Maple Story: Finding What's Lost
by NekomimiToree
Summary: When I lost you, I thought you were gone forever. Then I felt your pulse.
1. Pulse

A/N: At last. Another story. And this time no references to other games/books/movies/ect ect ect. I wanted to write this because I want to shed light on Ciel, a character from another fic. You don't have to read the other fic to understand this because it barely reveals anything about her. And I'm really hoping no one reads that because it's very bad written. I'm sorry if anyone finds this ridiculously short. Sorry, I'll try to make something longer next time. Anyway here's a disclaimer copied from Ghost Ship by Master And Chief and Arbiter. Forgive me if you are reading this.

Disclaimer: I do not own MapleStory. This is a work of fiction, any resemblance of characters or events to real-life persons or events is purely coincidental. (the rest is added by me) Also I don't own the username Silverbug, a player of MapleStory Global.

**Important terms you should know before you read: **GMs are an organization similar to Interpol in the real world. The coordinates mentioned in the story is Ontario, Canada. Annabelle is the name of Silverbug's phoenix.

Edit: CATS stands for Communications And Transmission System, it's like my version of the iPhone.

* * *

Ciel Chapter One-Pulse

I believe in a lot of things. And because of that, there are many things I don't want to believe. One example would be Lanny's death. You know, that artist, hermit, ex-boyfriend with braided hair from last year? Fine, I'll admit, we never started, so 'pre-boyfriend'. But that's far from the point here. The thing is right now I'm staring at something I can't believe no matter how much I want to. A letter. A recent letter. In code. Lanny's code. _Our_ code. And on the bottom line, I can clearly read the last five letters like its actual English, or French. L, A, N, Y. Double Ns. It can't be a mistake, because on the top I can make out my name, my nickname. L, I, M, E. I'm not saying he's the only one that uses my nickname. But the code, the names, and the fact that this thing is written with the brand of sketchbook paper Lanny uses, proves that it's too much of a coincidence if it is forged.

And as I read this, my mind couldn't take the truth. He's alive. For a whole year. Not in a coma or anything. And he's living well. Without me. If this wasn't a piece of paper talking to me, I would slap the memory of me back into his head. Permanently. Then something else hit me, literally and figuratively. I pull up the covers to reveal the rascal scratching at my leg and find a creature. A fennec fox named Spice, owned by Lanny before his 'death'. It jumps up and down wanting to play and trying hard to gain my attention. And in that moment, I realize I'm smiling. Something that I haven't done in a year. Maybe it's because a mere pet would sneak through hospital defenses to reach me or the fact that the one person who can give me happiness is still alive or maybe it's because the person who went in through the door of my room is my best friend, I don't seem to care as long as everything seems right in this world.

"Oh you're awake." Cathy says.

"Hi Cathy." She flips her blonde hair, revealing her gorgeous eyes to me. "It's so nice of you to visit me."

"You should thank Spice. She's the one who lead me here."

"Aww. Really." I gleam at the animal and pet her large ears causing her to sing in her special little purrs.

"Hey, what's this?" Cathy picks up the letter, scanning over it for a second before handing it back to me. "Is it from Lanny?" I open my mouth to answer, but then remember the figurative punch I received when I read that one line.

"No. It's from my friends." I lie, even though I know I'm a sucker at lying about serious things like this. "They're the ones who sent me to the hospital."

"Oh I see." She sadly remarks. "Wait, you told your friends about _the _code?"

"Um…." I pause to think of a convincing lie, but then realize that it's suspicious to take too long to answer. So instead I point at the water container by my bed, giving me a full twenty-three seconds before Cathy hands me a cup. And in that time, I already got a fool proof lie. "So, about that question. No, I didn't tell them _that_ code. I made this up myself. Our little friendship code."

She nods. Then says, "So what does it say?"

"Hold on." I scan through the whole letter, staring from where I stopped, up to the last word. Then I read it again thrice to make sure everything is correct. And sure enough, no mistakes to be found (and I don't mean spelling and grammar, there are a bunch of mistakes in that department). After I mentally read 'Lanny' for the forth time, I know that Cathy isn't exactly a run-away-from-home teenager who happens to live with Lanny. Oh, she's much more than that. "It's mostly 'get well soon' stuff. How nice of them." I make a fake smile, which is easy considering the time I take practicing it.

"They certainly are thoughtful. I'm going to be at the food court. Want to join me?" I look down at Spice, who watches me curiously. Hmm, I guess I'm a little hungry.

"What time is it?" I ask. When another thought comes into my head, I add, "What date is it?"

"December 4th. It should be around twelve o' clock right about now." I've been sleeping for a whole week. Only a whole week. It comes to me as a surprise, since I did cut my wrists, didn't I? I don't really enjoy the memories that lead me to suicide, not when I'm happy, but the idea of having an out of body experience and even lived to tell the tale surprises me. Let alone coming back after seven days. And I'm barely hungry.

Wait. Am I going crazy? Or did medical science advance so much in these few days that IV shots are capable of causing fullness to the stomach. And speaking of that, where's the tube and bag thing that's suppose to be by my bed? Am I already fully healed? What's the meaning of this? "Lime." Cathy pulls me back. "You ok?"

"No, I'm fine. I have a headache, that's all."

"You need me to call a doctor?"

"It's alright. I think I just need some food. So, are we going to leave Spice here?"

"Of course not. She gets bored when left alone, so sneak her in this." She pulls out a Nike bag from under the bed. "You ready to sneak a pet from the hospital." She gives me a sly wink which makes me shiver under my skin. Because after I read the letter and understanding the truth about her, it scares me to see her act so well to the point where it isn't acting at all.

* * *

I walk out of the hospital, half expecting hovercrafts and aliens. But everything's still the same. The Lego blocks of Ludibrium are still colorful. Two towers still continue to flank the town coupled with harder-than-steel walls encircling the edges. Several children play what seems like tag in the plastic grass. Out on the grassy field are several benches spaced randomly but still manage to seem orderly at the same time. Sitting down on one of the benches, I release Spice and babied her on my lap.

After like five minutes, even though it should feel a lot longer than that, Cathy comes by with two sandwiches and bottles of water in a plastic bag. I take out the tomatoes and let Spice have it along with a piece of ham. "So…." I finally manage to say in between bites, even though I don't feel like eating. "Cathy. Tell me who you really are."

"Hmm? What did you say?" She takes a sip of water to wash everything down. Or perhaps to think up another convincing act.

"I want to know who you are." I repeat louder this time.

"Lime…. Is something wrong?"

"Stop acting. I know who you really are." As the words slip out of my mouth, I try to control my urge to scream out her secret.

"I'm Cathy." She leans closer and put a hand on my shoulder, which I slap away. I look at her bewildered expression with disgust, and I feel like I can't fight the urge anymore.

"I want the truth! I know you are a GM!" I glare at her while her pupils nervously scan around to see if anyone noticed. But her expression stays the same.

"What are you saying?" She says, pretending to be concern. "I can't be a GM." Her hand moves to my shoulders the same way as last time. Almost the same way. The difference now is that I feel the sharp point of a cold dagger poking my neck. She lifts her other hand up, flashing another dagger, and quickly embraces me in a hug. "Oh Lime. I know lots of things happened. But don't worry. I'm here for you." Then I can hear her whisper in my ear. "Go along with it if you know what's good for you."

"I'm very sorry for saying that. It must be the fatigue." I says, even though I'm positive no one is actually interested in this conversation. Cathy whispers in my ears again.

"Good. Now follow me." She releases her embrace. "I'll take you back into your room so you can rest."

"Sure. That would be nice." I walk behind her, not thinking about running or resisting. Because for one thing I would never be able to go up against a GM, and for another, I'm this close to finding Lanny. Even if I must endanger my life, I have to know where he is, no better yet, _how_ he is.

We soon arrive at the front of my room and she gestures me to go in first. "Don't try to run." Cathy warns.

"Don't worry. I won't." I mumble back. The door closes behind me and we are alone. "Ca—"

"Lime, let me get one thing straight," She says, cutting me off, "from this point onwards, I will ask and you will answer. Understand." I didn't reply but she continues on. "Question one. What does the letter say?"

"I'm not telling you until you answer some of _my _questions."

"Don't negotiate. Nothing good will come out for the both of us when you're being tortured in a cell." Her voice sounds serious and heartless, making it hard to tell if it's another bluff or a real threat. "Now back to the answer. What was it again?"

"What was Lanny's mission?" I finally reply, half not knowing what I'm saying.

"Ahh, so he mentioned a mission but didn't specify what. What else?"

"Answer me! What is his mission? I have to know if he is alive."

"Ask yourself this. Why am I asking you about Lanny?" Then it dawns to me. My lips quiver to speak, even though we both know the answer. And it scares me. Tears overflow my eyes as I try to push the thought out of my head. But I couldn't! And that is the part that hurts me the most. "On a brighter note. We didn't confirm him as dead. If you are willing to tell us the contents of the letter, we might be able to find some answers."

"T…" I begin to speak, finding my voice to be stuttering. It takes me a while to calm down, but Cathy waits patiently, glaring at me without growing bored. "There were a set of coordinates. Fifty, forty-two, eighty-six and three." I review the letter to make sure those numbers were correct.

"Silverbug," The sudden mention of her GM brethren surprises me. I look up at her and spot an earpiece in her right ear. "You heard that?"… "Let's just say I have a lead on the Lanny case."… "No, I'll go alone. It started with me. I might as well clean things up."… "Grab one of those winter kits from the supply cache."… "No nothing more. See you at the front of the hospital."… "Bye." She taps her CATS and moves over to the door.

"Wait. I want to go with you. And there are still things I want to know."

"Your clothes are under the bed. Wear something comfortable and won't mind getting dirty in. I'll check you out. You have ten minutes." She leaves. I check under the hospital bed and sure enough a suitcase belonging to me is there. Inside I grab the most outdated, most unfashionable clothing (which none of them really are) I can find. A plain blouse and a pair of old jeans. I place the rest and the letter carefully inside and move out the room.

I walk outside spotting Cathy and Silverbug chatting uninterestingly. Several strangers (mostly Maplers) look at Silverbug in awe. Suddenly not wearing something a little prettier makes me feel nervous. "That took eleven minutes and forty nine seconds. You're late."

A 'sorry' is all I manage to say before Silverbug summons his phoenix and eagle. "Ok, we'll be taking Annabelle, thank you." Cathy climbs on the saddle and motions for me to sit behind her. Without complaints, Silverbug situate himself on his eagle with an irritated expression.

"Where are we heading exactly?" I ask while placing my luggage in the tough leather of Annabelle's saddle. For some reason, asking that makes me feel more uncomfortable.

"Oh, it's far." Cathy replies.

"To the north." Silverbug adds, although it sounds more like a command to his summons. With one motion, the two birds take flight toward our destination. As the wind cut through my purple hair, I wonder if I am truly willing to risk my life to find the truth. Even if the truth is something I don't want to believe.


	2. Truth

A/N: Another chapter done! As promised, it's longer than the other chapters. Somethings to note is that there might be some grammar mistakes, and I would be happy if you point them out for me. You see, this is pretty much my first attempt at writing in third person past tense in four years. Since this is a drastic(understatement) in style, feel free to bash this as harshly as you can.

* * *

Lanny Chapter Two-Truth

Luck has always been one of the two requirements to become an Assassin, the other being dexterity. But to him, luck always was like a mirror, reflecting but never meeting. The concept of luck eluded him, to the point where he wasn't sure if his choice to become a Thief was the right one. On the other hand, if he hadn't signed up for this, he would never have come close to the truth. He had become obsessed with the greater powers behind these past events to the point where he would be willing to venture into hell, alone.

In these past months, many things had happened to Lanny. Betrayed, back stabbed, and pushed down a cliff by his very brother, he had long forgotten his original purpose for doing this. Now instead of saving his brother like he should have, all he wanted was to get things over with so life would go back the way it had been before. For the sake of regaining this normality, he had ventured off to coordinates 50 _42′ 0″ N, 86 3′ 0″ W_, an island way north, a land of nothing but snow. There he found luck reflecting on the other side of a barbed wire fence, taunting him to move closer, to cross over.

He wasn't about to let that get into his head though; there were more important things, things they taught him during training.

_ Always scout. Your future depends on how well your eyes can perceive the world around us. _Those were one of the key words they kept on repeating, over and over again. At least three times, because one of the philosophies that she (as in his teacher, Cathy) believed was that, _"once something is said thrice, it'll always be in memory."_ As gusts of cold air blew and sent shivers down the spines of the observant watchers, Lanny hugged his furry cape closer around his body and stepped out of the safe confines of the boulder he had been hiding behind.

"There's someone out there!" Luck said, and immediately Lanny flung a couple of his steelies in the direction that Luck at steered him at, straight into the face of a low-ranking soldier. Luck kept taunting him, guiding him along, and eventually, Luck led him to the cold wilderness to face his enemies alone. But despite the encircling numbers, he remained calm, with one of her mantras, _'never lose your cool',_ taking control.

One of the soldiers did hear him utter something, but shook it off as the intruder murmuring his last prayer, his last words to the world that wasn't listening. In the split second that followed, that soldier was nothing more than a faded memory, along with his other fallen comrades.

As the shouts and footsteps of more soldiers reached the already bloody battle ground, the lone Hermit had already hidden himself well out of sight. Carefully, he tugged on the invisible wires attached to all of his shurikens, pulling them back to him while trying to make the least amount of noise possible. But the more powerful stars have always tended to make the most noise, as though they want to call out for attention, wanting people to notice them. _Clang. _And that's why Lanny felt that steelies never really solves problems.

About twenty soldiers rushed toward him, and none of them got spared by the wrath of Avenger, a giant shuriken created with a little Mana and three steelies. Not very stealthy, but did its job. Though, an Avenger powered with steelies have always had the potential to attract unwanted attention.

Lanny slammed his fist into the wall, skewering a dog with his weapon. A Warrior, more experienced than the others but still weaker than Lanny, lifted up his sword and chant the name of his family incase he met his end here. But unlike Lanny, the Warrior's luck stayed with him, and the intruder jump onto the top of the cabin. Cabin One, Cabin Five, Cabin Nine. Lanny jumped from roof to roof, risking archers over fighting a tiring ground battle.

The thumping sounds of the roof awakened the people inside. Pretty soon a large and possibly angry mob chased the masked intruder.

After Flash Jumping through the housing complex, he made his way towards the unknown, mapping out the area and at the same time watching his own back. It was another trait that needed to be remembered: _multitask._ If you can't at least do that, then it didn't matter how skillful you are at a single thing. The ability to continuously think during the heat of battle is an important ability for the survival of our dear Lanny.

He continued to run until he lost all but one of the pursuers. And that one got KIA the second Lanny spotted him. Stealthily, he concealed himself behind a concrete building. While no words are etched on the wall, he knew concrete is actually a secret message meaning 'this is an important place, come in'. So he opened the backdoor, and threw a star at the unsuspecting guy in winter uniform.

As Lanny walked pass the dead body, he noted the symbol on the coat. And he recognized it. He hated it too. It's the same symbol that brought his brother away from him. And it's that very same symbol that told him to move further in, into the answers.

The Hermit walked down the hallway, painted green, with lockers and empty tables lined left and right. After walking to the end, he arrived at a door, the only way to proceed on into the compound. Expecting at least three guards, he found only one however, and seeing that he was sleeping on the job, the guard was taken out easily. The door turned out to be the entrance of what looked like a storage room, with cabinets full of tools, hardware and whatnots. Everything in that room was worthless, save for a map of the facility which he pocketed for reference later on.

Leaving the lightly guarded building, he turned around and saw that the place extended to what seems like miles and miles. Basically a big giant wall boxing you in. And he hated that too. Checking the map, he located what seems like a research facility off to the right side. That is the place, where Intel are gathered and organized. And where there's Intel, there's heavily guarded concrete buildings. Normally it isn't the quantity that spooked Lanny. But this time, after the initial wave from the entrance, his guts told him he'll regret finding out just how many are inside.

But when a soldier retreats, that means you are in a bad position. And when the bad position is so bad that you are surrounded by concrete walls and possibly specialists in combat and defense, there are only three options. Death, capture, or move on. Lanny, knowing the better choice, casts his Haste skill. He runs toward the building, dispatching three hidden enemies in the blink of an eye. Soon he finds himself above a slope over looking an open, snow field. The size of it seems appropriate for a football game, or better yet target practicing. One thing about snipers, they hide in high places, and watch over large open spaces. Suddenly the black clothing over Lanny's body seemed far too noticeable in the snowy expanse.

"Teleport." Two high ranked soldiers arrive behind Lanny, ready for their ambush. The Hermit jumps off the higher ground, landing himself in wide open space. Out on top of the tallest building, a Sniper take aim at the unsuspecting intruder. But Lanny was quick on his toes and side step the four arrows.

"Meso Explosion!" The ground beneath Lanny shook from the explosives hidden under the snow. White particles covered the entire snow field as the Sniper rejoined his three friends from the top of the slope. "Wow that was a giant waste of resources." The Chief Bandit complaint when he found he used millions for one measly Hermit. But this Hermit wasn't measly, and all the riches in the world can't stop him from searching for the truth. He went through training against odds no one except him gone through. It was harsh, and the fact that he went through with it, proved he was exceptional.

"Don't celebrate yet. I can still sense him." The Sniper said, still on her guard. And she was right. The snow cleared and the Chief Bandit was left in awe at the Hermit in the mask.

"Summon: Dragon!" The Priest tossed a stone into the ground. It cracked and a blue dragon, the size of a tiger, appeared. "Attack!" The summoned charges up Mana in its mouth and fly forward to get better aim. Two mysterious shurikens rain down at the beast, pinning it wings in the ground. "No!" Lanny pull on the wire, tugging the weapons back into his hand. The Priest slide down the slope, petting her dragon affectionately. She's not a fighter. It's clear to Lanny by the way she cared about her summon. Without someone to lean on, she would never be able to win against anyone. "You bastard!" The Priest, blinded with rage left the safety of her circle of friends, and walked right into open field, where Lanny could carelessly toss a star and it would still hit her.

And he did. In one second, the Priest collapsed in the snow. "No! Claire!" The Chief Bandit tried to help his friend, but was stopped by the Dragon Knight. That must be the leader of the pack. The wise one. He saw something about Lanny that the Bandit didn't see. All of them are in the third job, but Lanny had exceptionalness. And for that, even a mighty warrior would shake under the pressure of the one in the mask.

The three soldier gasped as someone much more powerful than them appear in the distance. Without looking Lanny felt an arrow coming from behind. He dodged it the same way he did with the Sniper. Bored, he turn around and finally saw something he least expected. A lightly dressed girl with a bow attached to her left hand. Almost, he asked the girl about her unusual attire, but held back so no one may recognize him through his voice. "Shui Jing! What are you doing here!" The Chief Bandit yelled. They both don't seem to be in good terms with each other.

"All three of you stay back and heal Claire. Let me take the Hermit." The one named Shui Jing commanded. It took a little pushing, but the three stood back. Way back. Like they were afraid that Lanny might hit them. Or perhaps it wasn't him but someone else. The one called Shui Jing. Her bow sprouted out of her left arm and an icy blade formed on her right. And Lanny realized why she's so special. It was her gift. He heard many stories about people who become one with the elements. Although he never believed them, he suddenly felt like testing their so-called immortality.

Using an Avenger, Lanny hit Shui Jing directly in the face, but she didn't do as much as to flinch. Then he knew the tales were true. There's only one way to pass this enemy. Lanny reach under his sleeve for the eight steelies with tags hidden under its handles. Now all that left is to make his intention as subtle at possible. Lanny jumped out of the way and threw a steely at Shui Jing, making that one. For the second, he dropped the star and kicked snow over it while running. Very subtle indeed.

Mixing in one special one with two others, Lanny create an Avenger and aim it towards her leg. She easily dodges it, leaving the three in the snow. Then the two collided in a melee battle. Shui Jing, trained to be a close combat swordsman, found herself backtracking from a long ranged fighter using a claw and a throwing star. The reason for that is because Lanny have been studying Shui Jing. From her movements, he knows she's not a skillful fighter, but more of an undead mule. Her patterns were easily predictable and the experience is lacking. Surprising her is as easy as playing with peek-a-boo with a baby.

Finally, after a long stalemate, Lanny purposely allowed Shui Jing to cut her opponent wrists. The shuriken dropped on the ground, making this the forth. Recasting Haste, he fallback. On the way, Lanny let go of his fifth shuriken. With only three left, he Flash Jumps into the air and hurl two at a ninety degree angle. And the last one in hand, he chants the ancient spell while luring the target into the circle of steelies. By the time the knight got close enough to hear what he's saying under the mask, the spell has already started. A glowing blaze gathers in the air in preparation for a fiery strike. Soldiers in buildings stopped hauling their crates of supplies and looked out the window. The Chief Bandit and Dragon Knight covered their eyes and wished they had sun glasses. And Shui Jing watched Lanny try to escape the blast radius of the deadly attack. With one last Flash Jump, fire rained from above.

Shui Jing reformed herself from ice. Out in the middle of the melted snow, she spots the furry cape belonging to the intruder. She summons a frozen path for her to walk over and arrive at the lifeless body. The Chief Bandit hastily arrives at the scene, taking the burned remains of the Hermit to the autopsy facility. As everyone head back inside, they remark on tightening security to prevent another infiltration.

"Audio log one." A voice said from behind the research facility. "1128 hours. For the past week I've been tracking down Chaud and the mysterious symbol. Security on the outside was light, but a lot tougher on the inside. As I near the eastern building I faced up against a powerful enemy with complete power over ice, to the point of becoming one. But it seems these soldiers are still under training and has yet to become fulltime fighters. No weakness has been found in the brief fight, but I manage to escape with a substitute body. If anyone finds this send this memory card to the GMs immediately. In the event of my death, know that I at least went this far into the mission without failing. Over and out."

The Hermit put the micro size chip in a micro size memory capsule. Then buried it into the snow, where hopefully it will be found in the future. He pulls the mask over his face and quietly shifts into building unnoticed.

* * *

"Bye." Shirley utter to her best friend, splitting up towards their rooms. A gust of wind blew behind her, startling her as she remembered ghost stories she heard when she was younger. As fast as possible she hurried to the door of her room, punched in a few numbers and slid her card. "Phew." She reached for the light by the wall and noticed a shadow on the floor. A hand grabbed her shoulders and jerked her hard onto the floor. In the dark, she felt the knee on her back, her limbs being tied, and gloved hands touching her in the dark. She cried for help, but no one heard her through the thick walls.

"Hey, stop that already." The lights turned on and for a second she made eye contact with the person behind the mask. "You should know these walls are sound proof." She didn't stop. But that's ok. Lanny could really care less if all he has to do is ignore something he can't turn off. After all, making it in isn't hard. Making it out is complicated. It would be like trying to solve the Rubik cube with one hand.

Done with the girl(who cries for help at the top of her lungs), the first thing he checked is the drawer. Because when trying to snoop around, it is a good idea to disguise yourself as someone (or in some cases, something) who no one suspects would be trying to snoop around. But when he checked inside, there were whiteness. Save for the comfy pink pajamas in the corner. And a black silk dress, saved for a special occasion.

"So, you finally stopped." Lanny comments, relief that the alarming girl stopped her pleas. He turned around, not to see how Shirley is doing, because he knows the answer to that. He was surveying the room, noting how white it would look without the roses on the desk. On the desk were a book and a pen.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm not going to kill you, if that's what you want to know. If you want to know more, sorry. Can't do that." Lanny takes the pajamas and hurry to the bathroom. "Try not to escape. Because you won't." He then closed the door and started the water. In the first time since yesterday, he removed his mask. Behind it weren't the eyes of a GM agent. It was someone who looked tired. He stared into the mirror and imagined how great it would be if he could just forget about who he is or what he has to do. But from day one, he knew it was impossible.

With a sigh, he looked away from the boy in the mirror.


	3. Lies

A/N: Another boring and uneventful chapter. There's no action here folks. But there is some emotional comflict and this basically sets up the setting and mentality of the characters. This chapter took longer because I was working on chapter four. Hopefully from now on, chapters will come faster, and is a lot less boring. For your information, the setting of the story is none other than Rein, home of the fabled Aran class. But there won't be any references to Aran, nor do you need to know about the Aran to understand the story. Anyway, please read and review. =)

* * *

Ciel Chapter Three-Lies

I blow into my mitten as we land.

"Achoo." I sneeze.

"Tissue?" Silverbug takes out a bag and I hold up my hand to decline. Spice climbs under my coat upon noticing the vast difference in weather. "Go on, keep it. You might need it, right." Deciding its best to take it, I stuff it in my pocket. Cathy brushes between us rudely, giving us a glare on the way. I continue after her as Silverbug leaves with my luggage.

"So where are we headed?" I ask wondering if she knows if she actually is going the right way. The last thing I'll need is getting lost in a snowy forest.

"Don't ask anything and follow me." She replies, rather coldly. If Lanny really have known her for a long time, how does he live with her?

A long trek later (which I swear would have been much shorter if I led the way) we arrive at the top of a cliff. I faintly remembered some time ago that going up to higher ground might be a bad direction. "Are we lost?" I ask. When she didn't answer I know I regretted asking. After what seemed like years, she finally finds courage to turn and face me. The mad look on her face tells me I said something wrong. As she walks closer, I imagine her choking me, even though that might be a little extreme. "Teleport."

Unknowingly, I find myself in unfamiliar places. The whole stranded in a forest scene, became stranded in the middle of a snowy canyon scene. "Took you long enough." A smart voice says. "And you brought along a little sidekick too."

"She is not my sidekick." Cathy scowls. For a second I jump back at her hostile attitude. "And I bet she wouldn't survive for three hours." I look at her and wonder if there was anything in this world she actually cared about. I didn't think so.

"It's been three hours, you lost."

"Starting now." She corrects herself. "I take it that you scouted around." A noise startles me and I notice a large crate in between Cathy and her friend. Ok maybe friend isn't the best word here.

"I did but didn't make it very far. The whole place is abandoned. Everything's been sealed off, and I don't think it's possible to get in without some explosives, backup, or some access card."

"So you basically did nothing." Looking at her back and I can already tell she's thinking: if you want something done the right way, do it yourself.

"Actually, I got the electricity back up. It melted most of the ice in the place."

"You waste my time. There's nothing else for you here, leave and file a report for me." Grumbling, he takes off as Cathy smirks victoriously, like she actually enjoys having people work for her. She takes a Maple Lama Staff from inside the crate and hand it to me, along with a large satchel. "You know what to do?" From her outstretched hand, I take the rubber band and tied her hair in a neat ponytail. Memories flash in my brain and the next thing I expect is a 'thank you'. Never happened. And it probably never will.

"Achoo!" I sneeze again, a little softer this time.

"If you're not accompanied with the cold, you shouldn't have come here." She comments dryly. Without telling me, she walks deeper into the canyon. I follow close behind with my Teleport because I rather use Mana then walk in the heavy snow boots. Without conversing, the journey becomes boring and tiring. And the unexciting scenery doesn't help the situation one bit.

One good thing is that I get to think back to those times a year ago. I've always thought of Lanny as a simple person, with simple goals. I spent time with him together. It was brief, but he showed me the fun part to life, away from fashion, boys, and popularity. He's a fun person, who does fun and often cute things. But ever since I read that letter and learned the truth about him, it felt like I was living a lie. Is the teddy-loving, cross-dressing, Picasso reincarnate I known up to then is actually a mask? All this time he was telling lies?

"Shh." Cathy hushes. We halt in our steps. Her fingers twitch every now and then. Not knowing what to expect, I cling close to her, while Spice clings close to me. A noise. No there is no noise. It's a feeling. Yes, the feeling that someone or something is behind me. And I turn. And freeze. A pack of Lycanthrope, werebeasts three times the size of man, surrounds us, trapping us between rocky walls. My Teleport can't reach far enough to escape the encircling. One of it bears it fangs at me. Then it goes on all fours. I want to shriek. I want to cry. And when it raises its arms at me, I trip.

My mind went blank.

* * *

"Congratulations Ms. Levite. You survived for three hours." I try to find the source of the voice and find a blurry figure behind the campfire. "And in turn you wasted three hours of my time." She continues. I squint but still find it hard to get a good picture of the speaker. Something cold drifts onto my nose and I finally know why. It's snowing, distorting my vision. It must have started recently since there's barely a layer on the blanket I've been sleeping under.

"Why didn't you set up a tent?" I ask lazily, even though I intend to yell.

"Because I can kill and bury you without having to do it personally. Come on. Let's get going." She stands and walks, not taking a second glance at me. And without a word of complaint I follow behind, shoving the scattered items into my satchel while walking.

"Cathy. Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Why are you so mean?" I blurt out. When I realize I might be mean myself I add, "I'm not saying you're not nice, but sometime you're too cold to others. Even if you acted nice before, I don't really believe—"

"Are you done with your talking?" She talks over me. "I am who I am because that's the way I'm born. To be a GM, you need qualities, talent basically. Unlike Silverbug, I don't reveal myself to the public, and even if I did I cannot show weakness to others. To be strong means not being influenced by outside forces. Back then I acted, like you said. Because that too is another quality. My real self is who you see before you. If you don't like it, you can always leave. I am on a mission, and you're not a spoiled brat anymore. I don't have time baby-sitting you."

"Then why didn't you leave me when the Lycanthrope attacked?"

"I did, but they surrounded me."

"Then how about after?"

"Think back a little." And I did. Flashes of earlier today come into mind. Everything is still fresh and vivid. First they appeared, hungry and desperate. The intimidating glares knocked me down into the floor, pinning me there. One moved closer and….

"I see…." And she jumped in front of it right before I blanked out. "Your leg—"

"Get one thing straight. It was carelessness."

"I'm sorry."

"Apology unaccepted. If you are really sorry, then move faster."

"There's still one thing I need to know."

"Need? Or want?" I think about the importance of it. Then I realize which one is the safer answer.

"Need."

"Alright, tell me."

"All this time. Is Lanny lying to me? As in, is he really who he appear to be, or is he really coldhearted too?" She laughs. But even when laughing, it sounds more like a funeral march. "What's so funny?"

"It's nothing. Now Lanny. He was a disgrace. No matter what I do to him, there was no possible way for me to train him into a proper GM. A failure at best. I would have given up on him except…. He wrote one essay that impressed even me. I've read it so many times, I can probably tell it to you in reverse." She takes a small pouch and throws it randomly behind her. "Don't slow down while reading it." I unfold the worn paper and notice two things. First, it's in French. Second, the date is marked a month after his 'death'.

"Why is it in French? I thought you can't read French?"

"That's precisely it. He didn't want me to read it. It forced me to learn the language. Sometime after he wrote that, he was dismissed into the field to track leads on…." I wait for her to continue, but she keeps quiet.

"On?"

"Chaud." That word sounds like a chant. For the last few years, I've learnt to hate that word and its owner. I hated that word, not by disgust. It was fear. That one person changed my life. After a year, I still get that haunting feeling that he's somehow still out there, searching for me. A week before, my fears were confirmed. In that day, my days of hope fallen. I know I am still not strong enough to face him, so that is why I search for Lanny. Because without him, I can never escape…hell.

"Chaud." I repeat. "So, he's here?" My voice shakes.

"Do you really want me to answer? Quite frankly, I don't want Lanny to blame me for something you asked for."

"Please answer." I say, controlling the quivering in my lips.

"No, I don't think so. Because for one thing, it's abandoned, or did you forget that."

"No, I didn't. But, I'm scared that he's following me, or is waiting for me there."

"Scared? Lime, here's one thing about GMs. You never get on Cathy's bad side. In the unfortunate event that you did, she'll hunt you down to the center of the world and make you pay."

"Is that your way of saying: there's no need to worry?"

"No. That is my way of saying: stop asking these dumb questions and start walking. Seesh, I've been repeating that all day." I speed up my pace a little, catching up to her, until she starts to speed walk. Her long legs easily catches up to my Teleport (but I have to admit, my Teleport isn't really that awesome).

_My Dream_

_An essay by Lanny_

_ My dream. I've been asking myself that many times. A dream, to me, can be very situational. It changes as time goes on. At first, I had a dream that all orphans have. To have a family. To this day, my childhood dream could be called complete. Ever since Cathleen took me away from the orphanage and gave me a home, I never thought I would dream again. Because my life was content. So many people would come visit me and give me candy. Yes, I really was a kid back then. There couldn't be anything more I would want._

_ On my first Christmas with Cathleen, she got me my first claw. And I was admitted into school to learn writing and reading. I tried hard in school everyday. And pretty soon, I outmatched everyone else. That was the first time I felt truly proud of myself. Then the first year was over. I expected Cathleen to be happy and content with my grades. And then take me to vacation. Because all the other kids are practically going to some foreign place. When I got back, she scanned over it, and made a phone call._

_ On that summer, I spent my vacation training to be an unofficial GM Core member. My second, third, forth, fifth, and sixth year passed, and I still don't have a dream yet. On the sixth summer, I got a file. I thought it was one of those files I had to remember for no reason other than it being part of the training. I read it. It was my first and only mission. Then I realize why I was the lucky child to be chosen by Cathleen. It's not because I'm capable to be a strong GM one day, but because of my family ties. I reunited with my big brother and spied on him. Every move he makes, every food he purchased from the market, every gallon of water he uses per day was documented in a notebook. My brother was nice, a true family._

_ Through him, I met Lime. She was a rich girl, from a rich family. And I was spying on her boyfriend. So I never really did approach her. I really regretted that. Because, I know that I'm working for the GMs and Chaud is an enemy. I would turn him in, and someone along those lines would get hurt. After a few months, I noticed changes in his behavior. I knew he hid Lime in the basement. And I didn't have the courage to expose him. I waited for days and it pained the three of us. I nearly cried when I finally opened the basement door. My loving brother, a criminal._

_ My dream is to end this. It started with me. It might as well end with me._

_P.S. I don't need your permission. Writing this was a waste of my time._

He knew about Chaud. He knew I would get hurt. He knew I did get hurt.

My vision blurs. I stop. Cathy moves on. This is not the time or the place to sit down and cry. I need it though. There are reasons to cry. It might be the memories coming back into my head. It might be Cathy not caring about my emotions. It might be Lanny not choosing to save me the first second he knew. Or it might be me. Me who have thought this world was a beautiful rainbow.

The snow crunches beside me. A mittened hand reaches out. "I would like the essay back, please." This time, I couldn't bear her any longer. I never feel so enrage in my entire life. Looking at her snobbish scowl, I push her. I shove her with all my build up rage. I want her to fall. I want her to say sorry. I want her to at least show a side of her that isn't arrogant, if it existed. But it was no use. No matter how hard I try, I can never overcome her. And so I lean on her. Cry and punch her. And nearly ask her 'Why?'

"Are you still going to search for Lanny?" Her voice is still cold steel.

"Why should I search for someone who wouldn't search for me?"

"Let go of my coat."… "I said let go."… "Now!" She pushes me down into the snow. And left me there. To die. And I watch her leave with the letter. Leaving and walking until the color of her coat disappears in the concealing web of snow.

The snow piles around me, until it is up to my waist. I had time to calm down. And now that I'm not full of anger (but still holds a grudge), I glance around. I can barely see three inches in front of me. My legs are trapped in the layer of ice. And Spice clings onto me. Soon, the raging storm will bury us alive. And it doesn't help that I can't find my staff, anywhere. Digging myself out is ideal, but as I continue to shovel that snow, it piles backup again.

"Hey, need a little help?" Cathy asks. The storm blocks her face, but from her speech, it's easy to tell she's in a sarcastic slash embarrassed mood. Why?

"What did you come back for?" I ask. She sighs.

"I'll admit it. I need your help. If you help me, then I'll rescue you. If you decline, I'll call for back-up." Something tells me she wouldn't call for back-up. She'd find eating dirt better than asking for help. To go along with it, I keep quiet, even when the snow starts to touch my stomach. "Come on, answer me. Don't you want to see Lanny?"

"Don't you get it? I don't want anything to do with him anymore!" I pretend to yell. I try to hold in the laugh, but knowing how futile it is; I hope the snow would cover the smile across my lips.

"Look. Lanny…." She pauses. I really don't know why. The snow reaches over my stomach, and I begin to panic.

"Well?" I say, trying hard to cover up the panic in my voice. Which I did a really bad job at. Hopefully she didn't notice.

"Lanny thought of you everyday. When he sent letters back there were always paintings of you. I have a whole gallery of it in my room. And well…." Another pause. It's like there's something in there she didn't want to discuss at all. "If you tell a word of it to anyone, I'll kill you. And I can make it look like a Lycanthrope did it." Hmm, diverting the topic.

"So, what if he thought of me? Should I forgive him because he constantly regrets not saving me back then?" I ask, not keeping with the charade, but really meaning what I ask.

"No you shouldn't." Another sigh. "The last letter he wrote. He wrote it to you. Not me or the GMs. But to you. Because, he's a stupid kid. He's entrusting our secrets and his life to you. I don't know why, I don't know how. But maybe he wanted you to know that, he's sorry. And he'll use his life to prove it."

"That doesn't make any sense at all."

"And so is being buried up to the neck without trying to break free." She stretches her hand out again. Hesitating, I take it.

"Ok fine. I'll help you. And keep your secret. Under one condition." I can hear her cuss under her breath. Very amusing to watch. Wonder how she'll react to my condition. "You have to answer any questions I have. Starting with this. Why are you embarrassed to talk about Lanny's pictures?" She cusses some more.


	4. Discovery

Lanny Chapter Four-Discovery

By the time the shower was done, Shirley have quieted down and was sleeping by the bed. For this night, she had nightmares. And you would too. Provided that you too are tied up by a masked stranger without the knowledge of the outside world. Anyhoo, Lanny read the diary by the desk with amusement, laughing twice when it mentioned her goofy friend, Davina. The clock ticked 17994 times before Lanny looked up and noticed it's already passed midnight. Tearing a page out, he began writing notes and summaries about Shirley.

Lanny is a strange boy. I guess that what happens when you spend enough time with Cathy, other wise known to Lanny as 'The Abusive Caretaker'. You see, after first grade, he expected to go to Florina Beach and break the world record for biggest sand castle. But instead of treating him as a normal boy, the guardian decided it's time to start his training. To describe the training would be like trying to find a word that rhymes with 'orange'. You just can't. Because without being there and experiencing it yourself, you'll never know the horrors he has been through. Some of you might be thinking about walking on a tight rope atop the Twin Towers, or swimming in three degree Celsius water. But I assure you, that while Cathy's methods were strange and perfectly safe they are by no means any better than skydiving into a volcano.

Most others would probably quit after the first fifteen minutes. But not him. Lanny is a survivor. As a result, he wasn't uncomfortable when wearing the slightly tight suit. When walking around with his hair brushing behind his elbows. When saying the most girlish words to the girly-est of Shirley's companions.

The time was a little over six. After the excitement last night, the kid wouldn't want anything more than a day of rest. Too bad for him that isn't an option. His job requires twenty four hours on call. But the concealer did a better than perfect job with his eyes. No one suspected he stayed up all night practicing and reviewing the diary on the desk. Rather everyone felt safe at the 'friendly' face.

"Hey Shirley." A girl greets by the cafeteria. Black spikes for hair, dressed loosely, a scary yet serene look, plus lisp. A light bulb tinged in Lanny's head. This girl was Shirley's friend, Davina.

"Hi." He tried to be as high pitch as needed to imitate Shirley. And really, it isn't hard considering he had entire year spent on practicing tone and pitch alone.

"What's up? Why so early?"

"My tummy's been getting a bit round, so I need to walk in the morning a little." Lanny flexed his arms out and made an extremely realistic yawn.

"Sounds like little Miss Princess needs some coffee. Here, I'll treat."

"Hey! I told you lots of time! Don't call me princess! I not a baby!" They headed to the cafeteria, taking little notice of the passing strangers.

One step in and he smelled the aroma of soft syrup and warm pancakes. A few early birds scattered across the table, chattering quietly. But in the ears of a professional, every word was so clear. In the corner, two guys joked about threatening the females of the facility, a group discussed the weird flavor of the syrup and behind him, and footsteps rushed pass him.

In quiet, which would be really out of character if this was the real Shirley, the friends enjoyed their morning cup of tea. Davina didn't notice because in her head she's thinking of one person. And it so happens that the person was walking towards the cafeteria. Even through sound proof walls, you can always hear the jingling of bells as his presence was felt. Everyone anticipated, even Lanny who had no idea why.

The door swung open and all was quiet. Too quiet. Like the whole building shrunk and boxed Lanny inside. Standing at a striking 196 centimeters, the man dressed in lab coat walk to the cafeteria lady. A winter hat and sunglasses don on his face, an odd but perhaps useful combination. No one talked. Everyone listened.

"Hey beautiful." Lab coat guy said. The whole room exploded in conversation. All sixty people in the room spoke the word 'Mr. Anderson' on an average of two point five times. It was hard, but Lanny took his best shot at taking in all the flooded mess of overlapping words all the while keeping an eye on the figure.

Anderson ordered a double espresso, and found a seat across from two boys in the corner of the room. Davina got up and moved closer to listen to the conversation, completely ignoring the disguised Lanny. But that's ok. With the distraction gone, it was much easier to concentrate on the matter at hand.

"Good morning boys. Why so bright and early?" Mr. Anderson said.

"You should know." One of the boy replied.

"I should? Wha—Oh yeah! You're talking about her?"

"Yes, yes we are." The boy shook his head at the man's behavior. "Can you at least try to remember things?"

"Sorry. I tend to have a bad memory."

"Yeah you told us that."

"I did? I never recalled—"

"Never mind that. Now on with the important things."

"Huh? What important things?"

"The girl."

"Oh yeah. She's doing fine. Soon she'll be ready to join. Here. I have her file." Anderson shifted through his coat, to find it missing. "Must have forgotten it. Can you boys wait for a minute?"

"No. It's fine. The file isn't urgent. I got the next file." Vanilla folder. Documents. Intelligence.

"Nick Yu?" The man said immediately followed by shushes from the two boys. Important intelligence. "Oops. Sorry. Since he's the next case, I'll get right to work then. If you'll excuse me." Politely, he pushed his chair in. On the way out he bumped into Lanny. Their eyes met.

Lanny pierced deep into the inner world of Anderson. Under that blanket of forgetfulness, he saw Anderson's true self. The self that isn't forgetful but rather sneaky like fox. And with fox-like eyes, Anderson pierced through Lanny's disguise. The both of them kept their cool, and exchanged apologies. Then, as Anderson left, he turned and mouthed the words "I know who you really are."

And trying to not appear weak, he stared deep into Anderson's eyes and responded with "Me too."

* * *

The moon rose. Lanny walked down the empty halls. As his hand slid the card, he found himself shaking. Thirty minutes ago, he still remembered, he was struggling. Almost he slipped out his identity to even more people as his behavior drastically changed. It's nice that the cashier didn't ask anything. Or was that an act too? Was everyone in the spotlight now? Did everyone know? _No that can't be. I trailed Leol Anderson the whole day. He couldn't have told someone. It's all just in your head._

The last thing he wanted was to get caught. After surviving in a battle with a super soldier, it would be a complete waste to die here. And truthfully, he didn't want to die. He owed lots of people. A debt that he'll regret not paying if he brought it with him to the grave. Repeatedly he told himself everything will be fine. The whole operation will be fine. Leol Anderson, a Night Lord. _He challenged me. I will succeed._

Lanny stepped into the room, waking up Shirley. Fear and confusion eating at her sanity, all she could think of was her fate now that he has returned. But in reality, Lanny saw her weakened mentality and could care less. All he really did was put down the take out and cut the ropes binding her hands. Then he resumed drowning himself in his concerns by the desk. Without realizing it, he started drawing a picture with his stray finger.

He never really known or understood that picture he drew. It was the embodiment of everything he held in the bottom of his heart. The artwork depicts a boy with shorter hair introducing himself to a girl with shorter hair. Was it a memory? No, it never happened. Was it a dream? No, something like this never crossed his mind. So what does it mean? Who knows? Not even Lanny.

"Shirley." Lanny began. The girl, startled, stop eating and look at him.

"Don't kill me." Was all Shirley could utter.

"Relax." His voice was soft and sad. "I won't kill you. I'll be leaving in the morning and…." He paused. "I'll be leaving." He repeated.

"What's wrong?" Shirley asks. The question had taken the young Hermit by surprised, so much in fact he paused and thought. He thought if he really had slipped to the point where even someone as naïve as Shirley can read him.

"Ho ho. Wouldn't you want to know?" He fought with words, but couldn't settle on anything that wouldn't make him sound incapable. "Leol Anderson, you know him right? Your friend seems to be a big fan of him." He stopped and pondered how he should say it. Jiggling around with words, he decided the best way is the most straightforward. "He found out I'm not you."

Silence. But from looking at the girl, Lanny knew the images going through her mind.

"He's not as clueless as you think. But he's not sure either. But if you get lucky," Chuckle. "perhaps you would be able to see the light of day again."

Uninterested in continuing on, he stood up, moving toward somewhere more quiet. Shirley, who lost her appetite, looked at her double. Then her lips moved, catching Lanny's attention. "You lied. Leol. He couldn't tell the difference between a duck and a chicken. Don't badmouth my professor."

"I'll put that in mind."

The girl looked down at her dinner box, feeling timid and stupid. Lanny, know full well how she felt, left the room into the much smaller bathroom. There he conducted his second report. "Audio log two. 2244 hours. Since last night I have gotten a disguise. My new identity is Shirley Leblanc. Information regarding this girl is inside this chip. Using that identity I trailed Leol Anderson, a scientist missing since eight years ago. He seems to be wary of my true identity, and this might as well be the last log." He sighs, frosting the mirror with his breath.

"This facility clearly contains a big secret at its lower levels, if it does in fact exist, according to rumors. But there is a lack of stairs or elevators in any building, except the one on the eastern side. I don't have maintenance to explore the place, and as much as I trust my stealth, I'm running out of time.

"But Leol Anderson has a pass, as well as the counselor. In the morning I plan to target Leol, steal his pass, and gain more information. Should I fail on this operation, know that I went this far without failing. Over and out." With the last words recorded, he hid the piece in a cabinet, and retired for the day. Tomorrow is going to be the longest day.

* * *

Luck isn't on his side. It never did, but the odds were never so extreme. Common rule among Hermits are to never engage in someone stronger than you, especially when they're the same job. Lanny is a strange kid though. The harder something is, the more it excites him. By morning, when he thought up a plan, he was smiling. Smiling as he place a shuriken by the bedside, a means for Shirley to escape (by which he'll be long gone). Smiling, as he move out the door. Smiling, as he feels at that moment, powerful.

The last bit of his uncertainty shed like a cocoon. And mentally, he spitted at it, teasing luck to do its worse to him.

"Good morning, Mr. Anderson." Lanny smiled, on the way to Leol's room. The lonely figure smiled in return, both pretending like nothing happened. Or more accurately, like nothing is going to happen.

"Good morning, Shirley. Why up so early?" Casual and relaxed.

"Same reason you are." Also casual and relaxed.

"Early bird catches the worm, I see. I'll be heading to the cafeteria, want to join before you stir things up a little?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just off doing a bit of exploring."

"Didn't you explore enough yesterday? You practically have been everywhere!"

"Not quite. If you get to know me, you'll know how much I love scouting around."

"Well, don't take too long. I'll be back from my coffee break before you know it."

"I'm more than ready for anything."

"I guess things are getting interesting in this boring place. I wouldn't want to interrupt your scouting for any longer, bye."

"See ya. Mr. Anderson." Both parted ways until both disappeared in the confusing halls.

The walls are set-up like a labyrinth. If Lanny wasn't so keen on his mind he could get lost quite easily. But he had no time to get lost. Because if he did he'll never find his brother again. He couldn't turn back either. Especially when he's right in front of the door. A door to destiny? No a door to a more point of no return.

As Lanny neared the door, he took out an important heirloom from Cathy.

The master card, a neat little thing that can hack into the doors of most five stars hotel. Once you slide it, it'll take little more than twenty-five seconds for the lights to go green. Why would the GMs have such a card? Yes, publically they are supposedly a guild of people who guide and help others. In truth they are nosier than the paparazzi. Relaxed, Lanny turned on the lights and took his first step further into the point of no return.

He began with the pass to hopefully the elevators. Placing it in his pocket carefully, then move to the laptop. He logged on and began to explore around the desktop, finding nothing more than pictures of his family and the rest, password protected files, elaborately layered with multiple protection programs. With all the information he needs, he relaxed into a comfy position and started a game of solitaire.

"What took you so long?" Lanny sighed upon the beginning of the tenth game.

"Ten minutes? You don't appear to be the impatient type, Shirley." Leol said, sipping deeply into the cup of coffee he purchased while Lanny invaded his privacy.

"Really now? Time seems to pass really slowly in here. So. I'm curious. How did you figure out I'm not Shirley."

"It's simple. I would know my favorite."

"Your favorite? I can think of many ways that can sound wrong."

"That's just you thinking. And on the subject of Shirley, I just remembered something." Leol slipped a hand into his coat. Lanny immediately got into a defensive stance. Smiling, Leol pulled the long, slender object out. Then he dialed a few numbers. "Yes. Make sure you do it quietly. It'll be trouble if anyone finds out."

"What was that about?" Lanny asked. His body began to relax once again, but his mind was still wary of the sneaky Night Lord.

"Orders to…how should I say it…severely punish Shirley."

"I thought she was your favorite."

"Favorite and expendable are two different words, carrying two different values. Don't worry. A young and healthy girl has some good organs. Her body will be put to the perfect use."

"I'm interested. What is it that you people are doing? It must be really illegal for you to be so secretive."

"I wish I really could share my secrets to you. But I can't."

"Oh, I guess that's too bad."

"Can I selfishly ask you one small thing?" Lanny quickly nodded. "Who are you really working for?"

"Tell me the password to your files first."

"Sorry, this stays with me and me only." Leol pulled out three stars from his coat, going to use force to subdue Lanny.

"I wouldn't really do that if I were you."

"I don't comp—"

"I've hidden several mines throughout the room. Stepping onto one would result in, well, I'll let you imagine. Such a small armored room, soundproof too. How long would it take for people to notice while you squirm and bleed to your death? Of course, you'll have to survive the blast in the first place. Don't bother trying to find it, they're untraceable."

"You're bluffing. You wouldn't risk this."

"Oh, remember the firework show at noon. That was two days ago, I believe. You know I have the ability to do anything and is more than willing to do it. And for the purpose of preserving my secrets, I'm willing to die."

"Die? Is that how you look at your life?" There was a small amount of surprise and panic in his voice. Lanny saw a little bit of fear within Leol, and decided it was time to begin.

"My brother's an ass. My teacher is an even bigger ass. I have nothing to really lose." _And you have a loving family and a bright future. _"So want to tell me the password to the computer? Or should I blow us both to bits." The Night Lord waited. Waited for some way out of this. On one hand, he's thoroughly afraid of Lanny. "Testing my patience? Maybe I'll step forward and see what happens." Lanny raised on leg up.

"Wait! I'll…I'll tell you. Don't move. The password is: t, a, capital C, f, e, t, 3." As he recited the symbols, Lanny typed them in, double checked before pressing enter. It loaded to a new window, containing a folder. Satisfied with the results, Lanny leered in anger.

"You. You think I'm bluffing, don't you? Giving me a false password! You wouldn't cry until you see the coffin."

"What? That was the right one! Maybe you made a mistake! I'll say it again! T, a—"

"See you in hell!" Enraged, the Hermit threw the laptop directly onto the floor, while Leol cowered under his arms. Lanny stabs Leol's heart with his left steely, and clawed his stomach with the right. With the all the diminished energy he have left, Leol slashed Lanny with nothing but nails. The Hermit collapsed onto the ground, holding onto and feeling blood and shredded clothing across his chest. His breath came in rapid succession. Staggering, Leol fell on top of Lanny, crushing him.

Pushing the gargantuan off and standing up, Lanny took a nice long look at the dead body. His eyes showed regret and hatred. And for a second, he looked as if he's about to cry. Or it could be Lanny imagining things. "And today, I made a widow." Lanny gravely joked. He found it more depressing than funny.

Cleaning things up, he dressed himself in bandages and elevator shoes. Sunglasses and a beanie covered half of his head, while a lab coat covered most of the dark clothing underneath.

Flash drive in the right pocket, and pass in the left, he readied for the next phase of the plan. It was an unexpected side trip, but he didn't want to stand by while knowing Shirley organs are being harvested. He searched all around for the girl, increasingly worried with each passing second. By sheer chance, luck decided to have them strike an encounter, bumping into her with several others in white suits. Shirley looked happy and cheery, completely kept in the dark.

"Boys. I can take it from here." Lanny commanded with a deep strong voice, sprinkled with Leol's personality. Without question, they scattered like rats in a cage, leaving them both behind. "Follow me." Lanny stepped down a different hallway, away from where Shirley was going to be dissected.

"Where are we going? Aren't I supposed to take to the counselor?" Shirley asked, confused.

"I talked to him a while ago. He'll handle things. Just follow me. I have something I need to show you." Lanny rushed.

"What is it?"

"You'll see." They headed to the closest door out of the building and into the settled snow. Guards saluted to Lanny wherever he went and deep inside he felt a sense of false pride in his new but temporary position.

Shirley followed closely behind the scientist, someone whom she respected and loved. It was him who introduced her to the organization, and she loved it. The people were nice and the training she received was great. Everyday her skills as a Cleric became increasingly polished, and her dream was to one day assist in the field. Saving others, it was the dream of every Cleric and every doctor. And the person she wanted to work with the most is Mr. Anderson. _I'll help in making new potions. _She thought.

"Mr. Anderson. Why so early?" the guard of the eastern building commented.

"Early bird catches the worm." Mr. Anderson explained. And right then, Shirley felt something was off. It wasn't the looks or the speech patterns. Just a feeling. A women's intuition. To describe it would be similar to reaching for the sky. It's always there but it feels so impossible to gasp it.

And by luck, she found a flaw in Lanny's act. But she still followed, followed the boy into the building with only one hall way, leading to one place. From behind, the door closed, and behind these soundproof walls, they both stood one meter apart.

"You—" Shirley pointed. "You are," she hesitated. This guy have Leol's pass. If that's the case, then…. _Could it be possible? Mr. Anderson can't die. He's too nice of a person. God would never… _She feared reality. She would rather live in an illusion, where the person who gave her her dreams is still alive. If she continued to live in the illusion, she could believe that this is actually Anderson. And she would never have to chance the possibility of the death of her hero.

It didn't take Lanny to hear the full sentence. Her eyes, once pierced through, showed all her thoughts and emotion. _She wouldn't trust me._

It was a rash move. It could kill him. It would cause him to slip.

He held onto her wrist and pulled her through the hall, defying his lessons. _She has to see the truth for herself. _Passing through ten meters of walls, he shoved the girl into the elevator and slid the card. Soon everything buzzed into action. Between the yelling and reasoning, Lanny wondered what kind of luck was waiting for him. But once he actually put some thought into it, the answer was clear. Either way, he would have to put up with the new set of challenges once he reached the point of no return. And so, he welcomed as the door of destiny slid open.

"What's this?" The elevator slid open.


	5. ReDiscovery

A/N: Yay! Another chapter done (I finished it a while ago, actually). Well, not much to say about this one, because it's just so boring. I had to cut off a scene to lessen the effect of its blandness. So readers, whether you like this story or not, leave a review telling me what you liked and what I have to work on. I want to improve and one day become a proud writer, so read and review please.

* * *

Ciel Chapter Five-ReDiscovery

"Do I really have to tell you?" Cathy asks, sounding as neutral as ever. "No, I don't." A gust of wind blows over her bobbing ponytail. The ends of our silk scarves flutter behind us. It was like, being dumped cold water on you, except with words.

"Hey! That's unfair. You dumped me out here and then came back when you needed me!" I retort, stomping the heavy boots in the snow until I feel too tired to feel pain.

"What can I say, I'm a selfish person. That means I never lose." She turns around; arms crossed and head in the air. Gosh, is that how I've been for the past few years? "And don't even think that I'll answer your questions. Now move faster!" I teleport right behind her, exhausting the last of my Mana. Ugh, now I have to walk right behind this meanie. "But, I am willing to take a step back, and give you some free space."

"And that means?" I say, sounding a bit irritated.

"Every time I think you did something half competent, I'll answer one of your questions. And just for you, I'll answer that last one." Her eyes trail around, and I can tell it's her first time letting off her 'cool' guise. Or maybe she's pretending again. "The reason I hate talking about Lanny pictures is because I'm in them." She says it quick and fast, probably hoping I didn't catch what she's saying.

"What? That's it! That's nothing to be embarrassed over!"

"Look. If people started thinking I have people who cared about me, those very same people will think I'm soft. Which I'm not, by the way."

"No they won't! Where did you get that logic?" I yell in disbelief. Really, who in the world will think you're soft when you're meaner then my parents (who are plenty mean).

"What do you mean?" She looks at the scenery as if pondering what I said. And while I can't tell if it's another disguise, one thing that is certain is she's been quite lonely for quite some time.

"No one looks down on people with friends and family who care about them. I don't look down on you, and you have Lanny. And—" And I have a family too. Whom I abandoned. Because of how much I disgraced the family name.

A chill runs down my spine, and no it's not Spice's doing. It is because I remember my family. Before, a long time ago, I used to think "fashion is number one, followed by boys". Maybe that is what made me so defenseless. My family has always opposed me dating Chaud, for many reasons. One, he's around six years older than me. Two, he's not really a nice person at all. Three, he's not good enough for me. I always thought my parents looked down on him for being poor, since he's an orphan. But thinking back, I was a stupid little teen, trusting someone when they give me sugar coated candy.

And for being so stupid, I paid the worse price I can. My body. He took my body away from me.

I can never forgive myself for that. And I ran away from home, knowing how much I disgraced myself and my family's name. Many times I wondered about my parents. How are they doing without me? What are they doing now? How can I ever tell them where I was or what I've done? Or…or…or maybe….

"We're here." Cathy holds out her hand to stop me, and when I bump into it, the pain and sorrows lock itself into memory, once again. Funny. Before I knew it, the guilt and regret unexpectedly put my mind off of the blisters in my snowshoes. It's hard to laugh, though. I look to my right, at the strong girl, her bewilderment gone, replaced with a strong composure.

"Cathy, can I ask you something?"

"Do something competent." Her reply. As simple as that. I would be angry. I would yell at her. I would slap her in the face (ok maybe not that far, after all, she might actually leave me to die in the snow, buried alive without a trace, and I'll actually be caught dead without makeup). But I decide on the most unreasonable, most unpredictable, most irrational, most totally not-me-or-my-style thing.

I give up. And follow her orders. "Fine, what is it do I have to do?"

"It's getting a bit late. We should camp for the day."

"Camp? But we're already here. I can see the gates."

"Yes I can see that too. But the snow is preventing us from seeing any further inside. Another pack of Lycanthrope could come any moment, and it would be trouble for me if you somehow bit the dust. I need you to help me do something that would require all your strength. Rest up and we'll continue tomorrow." Well can't argue with that. My legs are killing me, and if I could, I would stall doing back-breaking work.

"Alright." I grumble. "I'll set up the tent…. If I knew how to."

"You ran away from home without some survival skills? You're useless." Cathy puts down her load and tosses a booklet in the snow in front of me. "Here's a booklet. Study it, and set it up!" A merciless storm pelts me constantly, making the work twice as hard as it should be (stop blowing the ropes already!). But I've seen it done several times, done by my friends, so the most trouble I had was from the tired hands and feet. While working, Cathy prepared our dinner, a nice warm broth of Lycanthrope meat. Twice I see her turning around to see how I'm doing. And in both those times, she smile and return to her work.

* * *

"What did you wanted to ask me?" Cathy questions, sipping the warm liquid beside the finished tent. "Come on, spill it."

"You're a GM right?"

"Are you sure you want to ask that?"

"No. I…. If you are a GM, you drank fountain water. That's how you are able to live forever. So you gave up your family and I wonder how you can abandon them."

"Fountain water? I don't know what you're talking about. But I can tell you that I did throw away my kin." Her voice sounds grave and silent. "More than once. I abandoned them because we pretended I never existed."

"What? How can that be! So they just forgot about you!"

"No, it was I who forgot who I am. Then others followed, and soon I wasn't even a memory."

"Forgot who I am?" I repeat. Then nothing more. The moon is already high and we both silently agree it is time to sleep. During the night, my mind twist and turn with nightmares. Abandoned? Forgotten? I don't want to be like that. To have never existed, to have no one to remember you by. It's…it's….

Scary.

* * *

The sunshine of dawn wakes me up from my sleep. Spice, already raised, hurry into the warmth of my body. Beside my blanket, I notice another, similar blanket. But no Cathy. Where could she be? She didn't leave me, did she? Scurrying, I head outside and find her staring in the snowy ground, her back facing me. Phew, she's still here.

"You're awake. Start packing." Immediately she gives me work. A little rebelling and a little docile, I start with the ropes while mumbling curses a girl my age shouldn't know. "When you're done, you are allowed to ask me one thing."

"What makes you think I want to talk to you?"

"You were up all night thinking about trivial things. And you ended up waking me up." Her body turns. And for the first time, I see her looking distraught. Hair shriveled. Lips dry. Dark eyes. And a face paler than mines (which is really pale in the cold environment). Under my coat, Spice flinches from the ghostly sight. To someone like me, that is the most horrible sight ever, second to looking in the mirror and seeing a reflection in that state. "By the way, did you hear anything last night?"

"You haven't slept!" I scream, caring little about her question.

"Answer me now!"

"Last night you told me I need to rest or we'll be in trouble! What happened to you! You need to rest too! You look so horrible!"

"Stop your talking and listen to me!" Her eyes glow. It's like, I can imagine veins popping. And as for my list, this, this totally top second place.

"Uh-uh-uh-" I stammer. Yes, it is that scary. So scared in fact, I forgot the question. Oh god. What was it? It's a yes or no question, I'm sure. Alright here goes. "Uh no."

"Ok. That's fine. Get back to work." I hurry with my work, untying the ropes with a good tug and folding the tent easily. The both of us travel a little further and all I can say is whoa. With the snow yesterday, it was hard to notice, but now that it's morning, and the sky is somewhat clear, I just can't believe it. Plenty of buildings, log and concrete, big and small, lined as far as my eyes can see. Through months of snowing, the ice piled together up to the window of the first floors. Suddenly I thought.

"Cathy. Why didn't we sleep in one of the cabins there?"

"I don't trust foreign places. Especially when it is made by people I don't trust.. Follow me." I teleport until she stop between a three floor building and a large empty field. Large empty field. Hmm. The other buildings are so tightly packed, but there's so much empty space here. Could it be that they had a park? "Here." Cathy throws a pair of strange mittens into my chest.

"What's this? It got claws and everything…. Could it be—?" Assassin claw?

"No. It's a mole mitt. We use it to dig." I stare blankly at her. "Snow." Dig snow. Hand it to me. I suddenly can't help but imagine her expecting me to use my precious hands for hard work.

"With our hands?"

"Yes." And now I feel like my blood pressure dropped as close as possible without killing me.

"Don't you have a shovel?"

"Too immobile."

"So you want me to use my hands to shovel snow, what for?"

"Stop asking these pointless things. I'm the boss around here, and you're doing as you're told."

"Why don't you call someone to help, then?"

"Again pointless."

"How is it pointless? We'll get things done faster."

"Are you going to start or not?" Cathy eyes growl at me, and I know she wouldn't exactly say: oh dear you're so weak and frail so you must sit down while I do the rest.

"How long are we going to do this?" It better be like five minutes, because if it's not, I swear.

"I don't know. It could range from three to six hours." Three to six hours. Oh my god. You have got to be kidding me.

"You have got to be kidding me! No way can I do that!"

"If you won't do it, then leave me!"

"Fine! I—" Before I finish my sentence, she kneel down with her mittens. And begins the three to six hours of work. Silently, I watch her working. And, something in me yells at me to help. Maybe it's the look on her face, maybe it's because I actually pity her.

Or maybe that something in me is…. An understanding. If I don't do something, then I would let down the trust Lanny gave me. So I put the mittens on. The mitten protects my hand from hard snow, but it didn't protect me from the painful scarring of constant brushing. And again, I see her smile, more genuinely.

We keep shoveling until the sun is high in the air.

"Here we go." Cathy says. She opens a case at the bottom and reveals a chip.

"What is it?" I ask, wondering if it was worth it. I didn't have time to think though, because of the ache in my hands. I take off the mittens and massage my hand, but stop when it only felt worse. Spice, noticing the pain, jumps from the bottom of the coat and lick at my fingers, not caring for the cold.

"A time capsule. Lanny have to periodically make a report, and if communications was unavailable, he is required to create a time capsule." She takes off her mittens and rubs her fingers for warmth. Continuously, she eyes me and Spice jealously. At this, I urge Spice to lick her fingers too, but as soon as Spice got to her fingers, she shooed the fox away. Oh well. "Here, put it in your CATS."

I shift the items around in the satchel, finally finding the device buried under dried food and really sharp scissors. "Audio log one…." Lanny starts. I listen carefully. We listen carefully. Every word feels like a pool of natural spring water, clear pristine, and refreshing. It's been a long time. A year? It really has been that long? It feels more like…. Twelve years. Oh my god, time moves so slowly sometimes, it's a good thing my height and age tells me I'm not old yet.

"He sounded tired." I note the second after the recording stopped. "He's ok right? Is he going to be ok?"

"When I train someone, no matter who they are, will do more than just die. He's fine. I can guarantee that."

"That's a…relief. Phew. That sure was tiring." I finally lean against the side of the snow wall we created.

"No time to rest, we still need to find the others." All three of us teleport out of the pit. "Follow me." She takes out a compass and begins following where it points.

"So, what does that compass do?"

"Isn't it obvious? It'll track down the audio logs." She makes the 'oh god you are so stupid' face.

"I just wanted to know."

"Pointlessness." One kick later, she shatters a nearby window and we jump into the facility. Cold light spread across the white walls and long halls. Maze-like turns span all directions. There are no signs of life except us, and I begin to sympathize with this facility complex. Its inhabitants just left here a long time ago and let it be buried in the snow. If Lanny never wrote that letter, would this be forgotten without even someone to remember you by?

I didn't have time to think. Soon I follow Cathy deeper into the desolated place.

* * *

"Are we lost?" I ask, swearing we've been through this hall for the fifth time.

"Be quiet. Someone else is in here."

"Lycanthrope?"

"I told you to shut up!" Light burns into my eyes, the feeling similar to looking into the sun in the beach. Through my struggle to see, a shadow pound against my chest and coldness hits my back. The blindness cease and fades soon enough and I find myself lying on the ground. Cathy holds a sword at…what is that thing? A monster I've never seen before? Armor in a deep blue shade with squiggles and curvy lines the color of the sky. Its shape is humanoid but made alien by the numerous spikes prolonging from the back. Just what is this? And what is that?

"A sword? And lightning?" I take another glace at the monster, electricity dances around its outer layer. "You're a Crusader?"

"Ice Lightning Mage and this is a wand." The blade snaps into the sheath and she holds up the wand towards the attacker. "Cold Beam: Spiraling Pinwheel!" Cathy waves the wand like she's going to use Cold Beam. Four blades poke out of the jewel at the tip and starts spinning rapidly. The air feels cold and moist and my cheeks burn. Then I realize icicles are forming on my skin. Particles collect on the surrounding walls and freezes within seconds.

The power of a GM is that strong?

With the stun wearing off, the monster focuses on the pinwheel, probably wondering what that thing is. In a second, the pinwheel spins toward the beast, encasing it in beautiful ice.

"Let's go." Cathy commands as suddenly as a snap, like she didn't just literally turn everything into a popsicle.

"You're just going to leave it like that?"

"Why not? I'll let it suffer. And we have no time to struggle with useless things like this." Upon the last word she collapses on me. Wet blood trickles onto my finger and I feel something metallic and smooth. Nearly I gasp when I see a sharp spike spearing in her arm.

There are a lot of things I can't cope with. One is being harassed by your friend who turned out to be a jerk that lies to you all the time. Two is when said jerk is found lying in front of me and bleeding. Three is when I panic. Now I'm feeling all three at the same time, and believe it or not, I find myself relaxing. Perhaps all three things canceled each other out leaving nothing but calmness. Or maybe more logically (I'm not usually a logical person) I'm just scared of being alone in this place, since she's probably my only ticket out of here.

With more tranquility than nervousness, I ready myself to remove the spike.

"Gently, gently." I repeat to myself, thinking that nothing will go wrong if you chant the same word over and over. Successfully (even though I can't tell what is considered as successful), I pull out the spike and wrap bits of cloth around the wound. Tense and drained, I rest on the floor watching Cathy breathing steadily. Spice crawls out and curls herself beside my leg.

"What's wrong? Why are you barking?" I ask at Spice when she starts to bark. She's looking toward the end of the hallway and—! The ice is cracking! "Cold Beam!" A sliver of ice pounce on the beast, but it did little to fix the ice. "Thunderbo—" A rough wind blows my hair up as the walls of ice shatters like glass. What…what in the world happened?

"I'll take this thing on! Go find the audio logs!" She directly orders, throwing the compass squarely into my hands.

"You're scared?" I whisper as I recall the events five seconds ago.

Let's see, first there was the light. It was from Cathy's Teleport, I'm sure. But something else, the pain in my left arm. I can't feel it anymore, like it's been completely torn off. But when did it get damaged? It has to be before the Teleport, yes I remember, it is before! Then that can only mean…this monster is faster than Cathy's spell casting! Speed and strength that outmatches even a GMs!

"Stop standing there and be useless! Go!" Cathy commands again.

"That thing can outrun your teleport and break through your ice! There's no—"

"Do you seriously doubt my power? GM Cathy defeated by some lame rabid monster? Ha. What a laugh! Just get on with the job."

"You just collapsed, you're—"

"I said go! Go before it regains conscious!" She's determined to stay here. Is there really no way to talk her into my opinions?

"You better not," Pause. No, if I said the word "die", then that would only make her feel worse. "Leave me here with this thing." I stuff Spice under my coat, where she clings on while hurrying boots pounds the shattered icicles. "You better not….

* * *

"I guess this is it." I double check the compass and it points straight ahead. The door's been crushed, no doubt by the monster. And when I turn on the lights, the whole room looks like a tornado hit it. Could this be where Lanny's been staying?

Hmm, smells sweet. "Flowers." I squeal. Well at least there's something nice here. Wait, it feels kind of warm. Could the heater be on? You would imagine a place like this would be cold no matter where you go. "Well, whatever. I'm glad I'm wrong." I relieve myself of the thick coat and allow Spice to run free. Lying on the bed, I stare at the ceiling, releasing my tired mind. "Sigh, it's so nice."

"Wake up already!" Something hard and smooth pound against my left cheek. It's not really hard so it'll be painful, but enough to make me say 'ow'. Angry, I take hold of the figure and yell out words a girl my age shouldn't really know. But the figure didn't seem to mind at all. In moment, my eyes started to adjust to the light.

"Cathy! You're alive!"

"What have you been doing?"

"I was, um, what was I doing?"

"I'll tell you. The first moment I step into this room, all I saw was you sleeping soundly on the bed."

"Oh yeah! It's warm and nice here, you should relax here too!"

"Relax! We have no time to relax! If I knew you were so weak and useless I would have left you die."

"I was just taking a small break. You don't have to yell like that."

"Small? You've been sleeping for the last three hours. Do you call that small?"

"Three hours! What? I thought it was only like fifteen minutes. Why didn't you wake me yup earlier?"

"Forget it! Just get going! You've wasted so much time already, I don't want to waste even more."

"Cathy, I'm sorry."

"You're not sorry to me. You're sorry to Lanny. The sooner we find him, the bigger chances of him being alive." She squeezes my wrist and slaps an object onto my hand. "Let's go." As we leave the room, the light from outside shine on her arm. Layers and layers of white cloth cover her hanging limb. It looks dislocated.

"Cathy. Your arm."

"Shut up and move!" Cathy…I….

Without another sound, I set up the next audio log.

"Audio log two…." Listening to the short recording, I hear plenty of seriousness in his voice. Then I realize he's probably really tense when he recorded it. He was afraid. "This might as well be the last audio log."

"No." I silently whisper to myself. We step outside into the settling snow. The sky is already darkening, and cold winds return. I follow the crackling snow like a snake to a piper. As close as I am, I feel distant. Questions fill to the edges of my mind until I'm sick of it all.

"Just so you'll know. I don't raise Lanny to die, he's perfectly fine." Cathy says.

"How do you know?" I snap, trying not to get my hopes up. "He's up against a Night Lord! There is no way he'll defeat someone higher than him!"

"Lime. Look at the compass. It's pointing."

"Then that means he really is still alive! Oh my god! I really thought something happened to him!"

"Don't take Lanny lightly."

"Hey, Cathy. Thank you. If it weren't for you, I might be worried over him for the whole day." As always, she coolly brushes it like it's nothing.

We continue on silently, finally reaching a building covered in months of snow. This time digging is a little easier. Maybe it's because I've done it before and feels stronger. Maybe it's because I had a nice three hour rest. Or maybe it's because I know that the thing I've lost and wanted to find for so long is just under here. And when we finally unearth (or unsnow) the door, my heart beats quicker than ever before.

I open the door before she does and discover a hallway leading to an elevator. With a card in her hand, Cathy opens the double metal doors. As the elevator glides downward so does my thoughts. Down and down, what else could be there? I have discovered so much, and yet the more I discover the more questions I have.

Ding.


	6. Utopia

A/N: Officially longest chapter. Ever. I'm one chapter (total nine chapters) plus an epilogue away from completing this side story, and I'm pretty sure no other chapters would have a length even comparable to this (not even the last one). Something else that should be noted is how fast this chapter passed for me when I was editting it. That's not to say it's good, but it should be faster than other chapters. As usual R&R, and I'll finish this thing faster =).

* * *

Lanny Chapter Six-Utopia

"What's this?" High ranking Commander Yang uttered in mild surprise. No, the surprise doesn't come from the fact that the elevator is empty when it opened. He more than expected that from someone who managed to kill Leol Anderson. But the fact that he actually arrived down here, means Leol really did messed up. Really bad. The news hit him hard when he received it, his sparring partner found dead in his room with an intruder coming down in a few minutes. "You," He issued a command to the soldier at his immediate right. "Go search around." Then he raised his voice to say, "Everyone else, cover him. Caution is top priority. Whoever is there killed Leol Anderson!"

Five minutes ago, as the elevator descended towards fate, Shirley and Lanny reached a unanimous agreement. Lanny had nicely convinced Shirley "threateningly" to give him one chance to justify himself. And reluctantly she agreed, knowing full well her life was far more important than the maddening feelings she kept inside.

So, with the agreement strong, they both hid within the elevator shaft, atop the elevator itself, while luck drew closer. Luck, not so much as in 'bad' but good, because when the soldier arrived Lanny successfully held him hostage and got a wickedly sharp object right up to his neck. As Lanny edged outside, he caught his first glimpse of the place.

Ten, he counted ten spotlights, all centered on the elevator. It's enough to make him feel as if the whole world was after him. The background was dark like night, but small twinkles fill the expanse. In the pitch black, most normal people wouldn't notice much, but that's not the case to specially trained people. Lanny immediately searched around for a gasp of the situation. Four archers to the right and four more to the left flanked him while four others block the path in front. Right pass this formation was a path leading deeper in towards walls and hiding spots.

And then there's Yang. It was no mistake. Silver hair combed backwards, a square chin, and dark eyes as tough as steel. And he disappeared eight years ago too. But that's not the important thing. The important thing is that he was supposedly a Dark Knight, with a reputation to show no mercy. People who usually survived a serious match with him, describes the battle as 'relentless', 'terrifying', 'a struggle with Death itself'. All those seemed like tall tales to Lanny, because when you worked with the GMs for several years, you grew to believe anyone stronger than them would be nonsense. But on that day, through his mask, Lanny learned the hard way just how wrong he was.

"Everyone aim directly at the intruder." Yang ordered in a voice louder than a speaker. Lanny mind tingled.

"But Commander! He got a hostage. Shouldn't we negotiate?"

"He is a highly dangerous professional that needs to be eliminated the first chance we got. Sacrificing one comrade for the sake of our cause is well worth the sacrifice, don't you agree?" He drilled his eyes into the walls of his confidence.

"Yes sir! I agree sir!" And with the walls collapsed, he had no choice but to take aim at his comrade.

"Hey, Shirley." Lanny spoke softly. "I'll charge, you don't wander away even an inch from me."

"You'll get hurt." Shirley whispered, nearly shocked at what this boy was saying.

"You're a Cleric, right? As long as I get you a wand, it'll be good."

"Fire!" A volley of arrows, forty eight to be exact, flew at the end of the spotlights. At that instant, there was only a split second to calculate everything. Exactly fifteen arrows missed, six blocked by the hostage, and the rest deflected near flawlessly by a pair of Steely.

"Ngh." Lanny groaned as two arrows slipped into his body. But even when damaged and bleeding, he charged straight ahead, while the archers reloaded. It was a commonly accepted fact that even the best of bowmen takes three seconds to draw the second arrow. And exposing this fact, Lanny dropped the hostage and grabbed the Cleric and jumped above the formation.

All he needs now is a boost.

"Spear Crusher!" _Perfect. _Yang unfolded his simple spear, and lanced it forward like a drill. Just barely, Lanny defended himself and allowed the burst of Mana to pummel him several feet away from the archers. Metal, he thought when he landed. The guards strung and released their arrows with pinpoint accuracy. But it's worthless now; the invader was just too fast, too stealthy, and just too skilled to allow his escape fail. _Six. _Lanny counted his jumps, only one more to go. Until….

_It's all up to luck now._

He took the last jump, over the edge of the floor, and into the middle of the abyss of twinkles. Shirley screamed as gravity pulled them down. And luck taunted Lanny about the leap, telling him it's the biggest mistake, and last he'll ever make. But in the ears of the perfect Hermit, all he heard was the silence of night.

* * *

The boots pounded the ground mercilessly, sending quick vibrations into the metallic floor. All twelve archers are now following their leader to the site where Lanny landed. They arrived at the next turn, weapons readied to be fired upon anything that so much as breathes. Even crippled bodies will be showed no mercy.

Yang looked. Then tapped in his radio. "The intruder has escaped. Call an immediate emergency lockdown." On the other side, control confirms the request and prepared for an announcement. "A-team to sector A. B-team to sector C. The rest follow me." The group passed under the wire and went to their destinations.

* * *

Speakers from various points of the city screech into life. "Citizens, we have a special announcement. Due to the discovery of pollutants in the air, an earlier than usual monthly check will be made. All citizens are requested to stay indoors until the check up is complete or otherwise face detention." Within the city of Cnorion, several youngsters, who enjoying staying up late, cried in dismay as their fun ended abruptly.

Cnorion was always a busy city. Day and night, it all didn't matter because the people are bored. And when they are bored, they tend to occupy themselves with whatever they can. Why are they bored? It's quite simple. Ever since that day, eight years ago, when the world changed, they haven't been outside the shielded boundaries of Cnorion. And those who left were released into liberated areas.

Or so they thought.

Eight years ago, the citizens were made to believe a GM war happened, when the two fractions, GM Core and GM Elite, couldn't agree on a single term, therefore sparking a conflict that rendered the outside world 'incapable of maintaining life any further'. But among these brainwashed specimens, one of them rejected the aerial drug dispersed when ever there was a 'monthly check'. So he waited on the outskirts of town without crossing over to the forbidden territory.

Then rolling can be heard in the artificial sky.

* * *

Boom!

"Ahh!" Shirley screamed. Rain has already settled in Cnorion, and thunderstorms begun a second ago. Her wet body trembled while the Hermit beneath her swallowed the pain of having the spherical tip of a wand blocking his airway. And it doesn't exactly help that he's wearing a mask. And that he's in no condition to run because he too sprang his leg. And that he's feeling a bit too under the weather.

If we shift the time a few minutes before, we see two figures falling from the sky. A long wire fastened on the masked one saved both from the impending fall of death. But, as luck has it, they were still several feet in the air. One small move would break a bone. Then a small move happened. Shirley cried from the pain coming in her legs, while Lanny sucked it up and carried her as fast as he can, moments before Yang found the spot. And the wand, let's just say luck wasn't exactly on the side of Lanny's last victim.

In the dead of night, the stormed appeared so suddenly, it looked like someone just moved some clouds over. Truthfully, that is precisely the case, as Lanny had suspected. But there was no time to ponder about, for people are on their trail, and shelter had to be found before he ended up having to babysit the Cleric even more.

The darkness sink into the outskirts of Cnorion quickly, the only illumination was the lightning speed flashes every few seconds. Under his mask, Lanny struggled to see through the itchy droplets, it feels like soap to the eye. Then the winds showered against him, trying to knock him over like bowling pins. But as close as he was to collapsing and being found, he still fought against his failing body and pushed forward, his feet thumping harder against the metal flooring.

A series of thunder, as earth shattering as an earthquake, blocked out all noises other than their own breathing. Blue rays brightened the wet earth and out from the corner of his eye, Lanny saw a shadow under an umbrella. Gasping, be drove past the figure next to him. In that moment, he was really terrified, the first time he was really caught off guard. Desperate he hoped he wasn't spotted until the figure turned around. Boots skidded on the metal, as movement came to a halt. Rain paused in mid-air. The wind felt like nothing more than a summer breeze.

Luck stopped time. And it was torturing him.

Lanny wanted this moment to end. Right now. But, legs failing, and the hooded figure drawing closer, all he could do was weakly hold up a weapon, warning him to back off. Pretty soon he collapsed, and Shirley rolled next to him. As the figure drew closer, she though, _Should I run?_ No, she won't. Because he didn't run when she was in danger. And he took two arrows into the chest for her. Not only that, but Lanny didn't gave time to heal himself in order to bring the both of them to safety.

When faced with someone who cared so much about her, how can she ever find the heart to abandon him? In the first five hours, she felt a bond stronger than ones to her most kin. So, wand in hand, fear stabbing deeply to the point where she's frozen, she stood. In front of the Hermit.

Then the figure was no more than a mere five centimeters away. And he flopped backwards into the ground. It was like a tornado hitting right into her face. Or winning the lottery when you didn't even bought a ticket. Or getting a shuriken, tossing it at rice paper and it bounced back right at you.

Truthfully, a shuriken was tossed. At point-blank range. At the hooded figure. And in a moment, Shirley finally caught on at what happened. She turned and helped Lanny up. In his hand was a card that flew out of the figure's coat. From the way things looked, the figure was either really weak or not even a Mapler at all. Then interestingly, he held the card up close to read the letters inscribed onto it.

"Nick Yu."

* * *

The foundation of Cnorion shook violently upon the first rays of dawn. Overnight, a large meeting took place concerning the slip in security, and the people on the higher ups erupted in heated debate. For the time being, they're on a short break, while commanders sent officers on a full scale search. But the problem is Cnorion isn't exactly a small city. With a population of 2.48 million and engineered to resemble a futuristic utopia, it is close to impossible to effectively pin point the location of one rat that slipped through city borders.

To Lanny, all it takes is luck to get caught.

"You barely touched it." Shirley said, shifting her eyes from the plate then back to Lanny. Indeed the only sign of movement on the plate was the fork, half poked into the scrambled eggs. "Is it bad?"

"Um, well." Lanny closed the laptop and removed the flash drive. "Sorry." Things…they felt so unfamiliar. Nick Yu's room, an apartment within the walls of Cnorion sector C, contrasted so much from the metallic outer layer of every building. It felt a lot like home, if he had one, but at the same time it also has an unnatural feel to it. Instead of Cathy and Spice, it's a naïve Cleric and an injured citizen locked inside the closet.

And instead of a carefree t-shirt and pair of denim jeans, they donned on the uniform, with the crest of the cult that took away Lanny's brother. But it wasn't the clothes or the people that made him felt astray. It's the way everything felt so simple. A wooden table coupled with four chairs, where breakfast, lunch, and dinner were served everyday. One white sofa with matching cushions and a soft beanbag chair facing the television. The carpet that resembled the one at home in feel but not design.

If he could escape from reality, he found this to be an acceptable start.

Lanny poked a piece of the egg terrine and tried it again, the first time he was too absorbed in his studies to taste anything more than tasteless filth. "It's great."

"I'm glad you like it." Shirley responded, not knowing what else to say. She wanted to go out, but knew it was off limits. So she settled with the next best thing, and stared out into the horizon.

"Shirley," Lanny began to ask, "you want to go out, don't you?" The girl made a sharp turn and all she could do was gawk, especially when she realized Lanny was dead serious. "Don't look at me like that. It's not that hard to know what you want." He got up and moved to the sofa, where all the clothing was laid down. "For being so good to me," Smile, sweetly. "I can help you if you are willing to let me borrow your head for a little."

* * *

"Are you sure this color looks good?" Shirley questioned again referring to her hair. _Not really, _Lanny thought. He smiled and nodded. "Ok." She sighed and closed her eyes, allowing Lanny to dye her hair. As he continued, he remembered the last time he done this. It was during different times, under different circumstances, but it was still so nostalgic.

Cathy was the one doing the work, and Lanny was the one sitting there. At that time, they were alone and since Cathy was like a mother to him, there were things he wanted to speak up about. But he couldn't, somehow, speak even a single "no". All he did was kept quiet about it and allowed her to continue the procedure. Afterwards, the boy looked in the mirror and frowned. That was how he spent his summer vacation, pretending to be someone he isn't, and to perfect the art of disguise.

And all the other children, they were having fun at the beach.

"Hey, so um, why did you rescue me?" Shirley asked, not knowing that she stepped into a part of Lanny's guilt. It goes way back months ago, when his maniac of a brother imprisoned a childhood friend under the basement. At night, Lanny twisted and turned, imagining the cries of an innocent girl beneath the tiles. And at the next morning, he forced a smile toward his brother while discussing the show last night. It was a horrible thing he had done, so much that he wanted to quit and live a normal life. Luck just wouldn't let him.

"Because I didn't want you to be betrayed by your hero." Lanny explained, remembering Cathy. "Wouldn't you feel a lot better if I told you about him rather than he told you?"

"Yeah, it actually would." She relaxed her shoulder. "If it's not too personal, there's still one thing I want to know."

"Go on." He took a pair of scissors and carefully trimmed the edges.

"It might sound silly, but I feel kind of weird. Out of everyone here, you choose to take my identity, and then you did so much for me. I don't understand why and I've been wondering if there is a chance that you actually…." Her face brightened in a cute red. She repeated that last word over and over, until she reopened her eyes and blushed even harder.

Shirley made a 'please don't stare at me' face. Lanny stared. "Close your eyes. Don't move." Lanny whispered. She did as she was told, feeling a warm sensation across her cheeks. _What is he doing? Does this mean he really…._When she reopened her eyes, across Lanny's finger was blackness. Like someone poured hair dye all over it. He wiped a wet tissue on the same cheek then disposed of it.

"About your question." Lanny smiled. "No, I don't like you or anything." _Lie_. "I only choose you because you're…." _Stupid_. "naïve." Shirley frowned, suddenly feeling conscious about her own body, again. Lanny observed amusingly on Shirley's gestures. It was hard but he managed to hold in a laugh when she poked her stomach. "You shouldn't worry too much about your figure. You're fine the way you are. All you really need is to be a bit smarter." _A lot smarter_.

"Thanks, but you don't have to be so nice. I know I'm easy to fool. All the time people play tricks on me because I would believe anything. I can't believe I ran away from home only to end up like this."

"You ran away from home? How long ago?"

"A few months." _A few months? I read whole years worth of missing people reports. There is no way I'll miss her. Unless…_

"Hey, do you ever miss your parents?"

"Of course I do. I wrote letters to them, but they probably never received them. If what you told me is true then no one knows where we are, right?"

"Yeah. But don't worry. I'll get you out of here. Then I can take you home. Hey, why don't you tell me in advance so I can ready for the trip."

"Magatia." _Southern Continent. _

Lanny closed his eyes and recalled the stories. The Northern Continent consists of El Nath Mountains, Ludus Lake, Aqua Road, Maple Island, Victoria Island, and Masteria. The Southern Continent consists of Mu Lung Garden, Nihal Desert, and Minar Forest. While the Northern Continent has more regions, the Southern Continent is nearly twice as big as Northern Continent.

For hundreds of years the GMs tried to spread their influence to the Southern Continent as soon as it was discovered, when famous explorer James Cook climbed across the deadly peaks of El Nath. Ever since Mu Lung had their first human emperor, relationships between both continents have increased within the last decade. But yet people are still wary and resisted the world. For as long as people can remember, Nihal Desert's borders were always closed to outsiders and Minar Forest was, and still is, hostility toward Victoria Island.

If the Nihal Desert reports were correct, then she's from Magatia of Nihal Desert. And that means she came from the town of Alchemists. Supposedly, there is an unexplainable connection between the practice of Alchemy and the sudden rise in monsters. Also a group using strange, never before seen skills have emerged. The unknown answers to all of these phenomena was said to lie in the sandy dunes of Magatia. But Nihal Desert was a fortress, even long before the GMs tried to invade the borders without much success.

"It's done!" Lanny sang casually. "What do you think?"

Shirley covered her mouth, like she saw the most beautiful thing. "Is this real!" Never before had she ever thought she looked so good with black hair. Well, that's the least of it because Lanny also beautified her eyelashes, eyebrows, lips, cheeks and to top it all off, a sophisticated nail design painted with Lanny's favorite color, sky blue. By then she felt that might be a bit too much.

"You don't like the nails?"

"No, I just find it, weird. I feel so beautiful."

"And you feel uncomfortable about it?"

"Yeah."

"That's great then."

"What is that suppose to mean?"

"The more uncomfortable you feel the better. That way you'll never forget that you're under a disguise."

"I guess that's true but won't I attract attention."

"You don't have to worry about that either. Most girls here actually look like this on the block. This could be some kind of fashion district."

"I—," Her eyes widened. "What are you doing?"

"Putting on make-up."

"But, you're using mascara."

"And? You've seen me dress like a girl already." Referencing to the time when he disguised himself as her.

"Oh, well, um…. It's kind of frea— I mean, um…weird…uh…." Her voice fumbled to find a word with a nicer connotation.

"You can go ahead and say it. The first time someone saw through me, I had much worse than you can ever imagine." He dusted powder over his cheeks, giving him a younger, smoother look. "Ok, I'm done. Let's go."

"Wait, aren't we forgetting something."

"We could just leave him in the closet. I don't think he would mind."

* * *

Elsewhere, Yang strayed into the meeting room, where everyone else had already gone on break. All that's left was the girl of green.

"Explain." The girl of green said. It was only one word but it attacked as sharply as a pike.

"There is no explanation." Yang retorted. "It was carelessness on my part."

"I hope you realize the Knights don't accept failure, especially from someone of your caliber. Project Utopia is only a single step from completion, and we shall not be halted by this intruder. That is why I want him dead within the next forty-eight hours, if not sooner. Is that clear?"

"Yes."

"You are dismissed." Yang's boots squeaked out the door and into the hall. The secretary comes in with the latest request from mission control. She took a quick glance at the list before she said, "Yes, please tell them to announce it as quickly as possible." The secretary nodded and strode stiffly away. But perhaps she was too stiff for she toppled over the tiles, sending paper flying all over the place. When she picked each piece back into a pile, her eyes landed on one name on the list. Nick Yu.

Then she stood and walked away.

* * *

"Citizens of Cnorion, we have an announcement to make. Due to our efforts, a new area has been liberated. The lucky people who will be released are…." Lanny glanced at the ciel, the sky, and noticed how fake the smiles of the sun and the fluffs of white are. "…we expect you all to arrive at the elevator as soon as possible. Everyone have a nice day." The metal reflected the voices of dismay into Lanny's ears and he immediately stopped staring at the artificial weather.

"Shirley." Lanny stopped while the world around him moved on.

"You have to go, don't you?" Shirley guessed. It was another one of her dangerously accurate intuition and it made Lanny feel estranged for the first time. Because even someone as naïve as Shirley have more luck than him. Was he jealous? Hardly. But he does feel left out in all the fun in life.

"Yeah." He made a pretend sad face. "You should head back. You're not disappointed, are you?"

"I'm fine, want me to make lunch?" She couldn't believe she just said those words. Lanny unemotionally shakes his head. _In the end, it's better not to get attached, _he thought. Shirley was about to say her goodbyes when Lanny hasted away.

As Lanny ignored the groans of metal beneath his feet, the wind murmured into his ears. "The train…." It repeated, and when he got on, the voice spoke again. "Next stop, The Tower." Looking to his left and right, he found the section to be empty. This, he thought, gave him the perfect chance to recollect everything so far to into an audio log.

"Audio log three. 2030 hours. I'm now in Cnorion, the secret city hidden under the snowy island. The citizens don't seem to be aware of what's happening on the surface. Moreover the artificial weather plus the dome appears to be used in order to fool the citizens into believing Cnorion is some sort of utopia. Many, if not all, of the people here are listed in the files of missing people. I can assume a connection between Leol and kidnappings within the last eight years, if not longer. Also Yang Ignotch—"

"Citizens of Cnorion, we have a second announcement to make. We got an expanded list of citizens who will be released. Leslie Sosa. West Sid, Bruce Stinki, Varis Sue, Stephen Cross, Nick Yu…." _Nick Yu. _"We will be expecting you lucky winners at the elevator shortly. Everyone have a nice day." _Expecting. Shortly. _The words 'nice day' sounded like a mockery from luck itself. _It's better not to get too attached._ Lanny stared out the window, praying for the best.

For the first time, he found the view astonishing, the technology a miracle. A train traveling in the sky, over rails as thin as a balance beam. The pillars must be pretty stable to support the weight of the train. And tall too. Estimated, it's five hundred feet in the air. In actuality six hundred. Estimated, it'll take another ten minutes to reach the elevator. In actuality five, because Lanny neglected gravity's ability to accelerate objects. And as for the distance from where he stands now to Shirley, twenty miles.

Lanny could run a mile in eight minutes. With Haste, four minutes. With Flash Jump, two minutes. So if he used Haste and Flash Jump, "I'll have to make it within twenty minutes." _I pray I'm not too late._ Lanny thudded against the rails, racing against luck, with his mask covering his identity.

* * *

"Wait!" Lanny yelled, pushing aside an unrelated lady. Shirley, her hand on the handle, looked at the source of the familiar voice. Questionably, she stared at him, seeing his panicking eyes behind the disguise. Creak. Creak. The door opened. Everything was ransacked. All within twenty minutes. If only the GMs responded this fast.

The wind blew pieces of paper around the empty mess of an apartment room. "Mesos?" Shirley murmured surprisingly. Never before have she seen so much money gathered in one place. But Lanny wasn't fooled; he caught three shurikens from under the sleeve of his black garments.

"Put your hands over your head." An arm squeezed around Shirley's waist as they tumbled into the window, grazing the tip of the Meso Explosion.

Estimated, a million arrows. In actuality, sixty-four. "Avenger!" Lanny spun the razor edges like a yoyo, manipulating it like a part of his limb. Flaming rubble and an estimated million arrows cluttered the sky like dust in a tornado. Smoke filled the air like global warming. Fires spewed on the windows, the walls, the ground, the streets, the people, and the arrows. And standing in the middle was Lanny and Shirley, without as much as a scratch. Looking up, the leader of the archers spotted a faint wire stretching down, down, down to the targets.

Out from the side of his ear, Lanny felt the vibrations of metal, sending him the signal. "Shirley, on the count of three, Teleport up then down as best as you can." Lanny mumbled as if to himself. "Trust me, it'll work out. Three." The Chief Bandit ordered the archers to reload. "Two." More metal spears pointed at their hearts. "One." A fusion of metal and glass toppled over, the estimated million dollar worth of explosives resulted in total devastation of the apartment.

Every archer, every Knight in general, looked at destruction present. The metal flooring had succumbed to the weight of the debris, leaving a gapping fissure. It punctured through the perfect alloy and crushed the rail tracks underneath, where a train just passed by. And in that one moment two shadows managed to avoid their deaths, as if opposing luck once again.

"Are you ok?" Lanny asked. In his mind, he didn't really care about her safety; he only wanted to sound nice. Therefore, when he got no answer, he explored the interesting contents of the train, finding Nick sitting coldly at the floor, along rows of equipment next to him. The equipments ranged from glass tubes to mechanical arms to crates of preserved fluids. He continued to explore up to the next cart.

Flutter. "A paper?" Lanny flipped it over. "Project Utopia, eh."

* * *

Upcoming chapters:

Ciel Chapter Seven-Chrysalis (when Ciel and Cathy discovers Cnorion)

Lanny Chapter Eight-Invitation (where Lanny died?)

Ciel Chapter Nine-Invitation (yes, same chapter title)

Epilogue (the whole thing sums up in a nutshell)


	7. Chrysalis

A/N: Another chapter done! Only two more and then the epilogue. All will be revealed. Anyway, read and review, yah heartless readers. This chapter is rushed, but if you comment on where I can put more detail, I can actually make it better. =3

* * *

Ciel Chapter Seven-Chrysalis

I touch the wall, feeling smoothness. It is wondrous. Glistering like sunlight reflecting off ice, I see myself. She looks clear, almost transparent on the white walls. White? No, it's not exactly white. It's more transparent, yet not transparent. But it is not transparent like wax paper, nor is it transparent like water.

It's more like the hair gel I occasionally use when I wake up in the morning. Except all rocky hard, like rock.

"Run now!" Cathy screams, patting my back. "Follow me and don't look back!" I look back, and instantly regret it. A giant wave of hair gel rising higher than a five story building is in the middle of burying us alive. Oh my god. I peddle as fast as I can. The wave continues to pursue us, as if we are high quality hair products, and the gel is the daughter of a rich tycoon.

I stick to Cathy like a magnet, so close in fact I can see sweat drops from her forehead. But other than that, he face betrays no emotions, unlike me. In the floor, I can see the horrid reflection. That didn't last long. Because I only caught a glimpse of myself before the entire freaking floor disappears below me. Oh my god.

And then the gel got me. "Ah! Help! Help! Cathy! It got me! I'm falling! Ah!"

"Stop moving! It's me, stupid!" I shift my eyes about, and indeed Cathy's the one that got me. Then I shift my pupils below to where our shadows touch the ground, hundreds of feet below us.

"Cathy! We're falling! Do something!" No answer. I pound myself against her, wishing for any answer, but still nothing. Then, through her eyes, I feel her timing the amount of seconds before we impact the floor. "Whoa!" Or maybe not…. My stomach twists and turns, my eyes roll around their sockets, and when the loop-de-loop settle down, I feel like coughing up the baby powder I had when I was a toddler. "Whoa!" I repeat, feeling myself falling again. Cathy firmly holds my waist close to her, shifting her weight around so I can balance on….

On a tightrope size piece of solid gel.

Before I can even begin to steady my legs, my whole body falls again. The next moment, I see my sideways reflection on the wall; Cathy is lifting me with her arms without even breaking a sweat. That's not to say I'm…heavy…but I'm not a featherweight either, so it's like Cathy is either really strong, or is pushing herself to the limit. In either case, I'm really grateful and at the same time, afraid of her suddenly falling because of my weight.

Naw, she wouldn't do that. Would she?

As I'm making up my mind on these matters, I again feel my body flying through the air, along with Cathy. My head spins again and I feel a bump on my forehead. "Careful!" A pair of arms pulls me closer and I can feel a soft, warm sensation, the feeling you get when you eat fluffy marshmallows in a cup of hot chocolate. When the tremors in my brain stop, the first thing I witness is Cathy, looking down at me while we lie on the gel floor. Her breathing comes in tough waves, bashing me with the orangey mint in her toothpaste.

Spice pokes her head out, completely oblivious with the events that occurred. What I wouldn't do to be in her place right now.

I look around the landscape. The gel had creased. But even if the gel is gone, my breath is still taken away, by the magnificent city. An entire city encased in glittering diamonds. "Hey, stay here." Cathy mumbles between breaths. "I really mean it."

"I won't be going anywhere. Um, here's the water." I pull out a bottle and give it to her. She gulps down twice and hands me the rest. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, but stay here and don't go anywhere else." She repeats.

"I won't but why? The gel stopped."

"Stopped? Don't be so stupid. It didn't stop. It'll move again after you step onto it again."

"You know something don't you?"

"Idiot, I know some of everything. The thing coating the city is called Adamasdyst. It's a substance harder than Mana stone, and when used correctly, it's even more powerful."

"More powerful! What!" My voice nearly screams. I didn't because the gel might hear me and come after me or something.

"Is that so hard to believe? Everything in this world has a weakness, Mana Stone included. Anyway, don't get close to that thing. I want you to stay as far from it as possible."

"Then how are we supposed to leave? Stay in this crevice and rot?" I certainly hope not.

"In time the Adamasdyst would go on a sleeping period. That's when we'll leave. Get comfortable, it'll be another three hours before it sleeps."

"Aww." I lie on the wall with Spice cradling on my tummy. Then a thought comes into mind. "Wait so if this Ada thing is stronger than Mana Stone and this place is so full of it, then…. You sent Lanny to go after people with the power like this! Are you crazy?"

"I didn't send him. He volunteered."

"He volunteered. Hmm. Oh something else I'm wondering. If all this Ada thing is stashed here, why don't they use it?"

"That's because it's snowing on this island. I don't know if I should say we're lucky or not. This supply is simply trapped here, because it dies when the weather condition isn't appropriate."

"Dies? Is it alive?" It never crossed my thoughts, but now that I think about it, it does moves. But it's cold too. Cold blooded?

"Maybe. No one can prove it yet, so it remains to be a theory. But I do believe it is living. For a long time too. Adamasdyst, while being very rare, has watched over this world evolve and advance. It's like all of our witness." She looks at the sky, and I did too, finally noticing there's actually a sky. And I could have sworn I went down a long elevator into some deep cave area with lots of lights.

"Whoa there's a sky!"

* * *

Three things I learned about Adamasdyst from Cathy. One, Adamasdyst dies too easily when the weather is not right, like what happens when you are at the beach and you forgot your sunscreen because your parents spoiled you with so many swimming suits so it took you hours to find the right one (I took all of them with me). Two, Adamasdyst is the hardest substance possible, much harder than Mana Stone, which is harder than diamonds. So then that means Adamasdyst can destroy Mana Weapons. Three, only one country has it, Mu Lung, and they don't have a lot either.

Three things I learned about Cathy in the last two hours. One, she's not really tough at all, with lots of whining, she'll melt like parents (who likes to spoil their daughter). Two, she speaks like she cares about no one but herself, but I can distinctly tell she's having a tough time speaking like that (from my intuition). Three, she have a preference for purple, which is my favorite color as well as the color of my hair.

Three things I can conclude. One, Adamasdyst is really dangerous and scary. Two, from my previously concluded fact, Mu Lung is really dangerous. Three, Cathy clearly have a soft spot on me because my favorite color is also purple, and she cares a lot about me. Just a little more and maybe I can really get her to talk to me.

"Follow me." Cathy orders me. Spice, seemingly able to understand human language, travels up my coat and settle around my chest, tickling me.

"Hey, wait for me." I hurriedly brush myself and check the ground for any items before moving right behind her. "Why do you have to walk so fast?"

"Because I'm anxious." Anxious? Did she just said 'anxious'? No way. "Look forward."

"I don't see anything. Oof." I bump into something hard and smooth.

"Here, keep it on." She hands me a pair of expensive glasses with purple lens. I slip it on and begin to see lines, no curves. Like the shape of a human body, human arms, human legs. Ada thing devours anything it touches, so, can these be real people?

"Cathy! People! There are people here! They are people, right? And Lanny! Lanny could be here too! He's safe, right?"

"I don't think so. If he's encased in Adamasdyst, then he'll be nothing but a living statue. So don't hope to find him here, at all."

"Oh. That's true. It's so hard. There's no way to break free from it. I guess it would be better if Lanny isn't here."

"We should find the next log as soon as possible, then we'll be able to tell if he's alive or not. Or maybe—" A whoosh of air passes by us, and immediate we split before the monster crash into us. It was the same one as before, and in the middle of its rocky skin is an empty spot.

"You did that…." I mumble in surprise.

"Lime, stay back. This monster, it has to die. I'm going to use my full strength." With her good arm, she raises the sword and stand firm at the face of the behemoth. The beast eyes glow a deep shade of yellow as it readies its attack. "Blizzard!" The air thickens. Sunlight becomes cold. Clouds become dark. Snow piles at the bases of our feet. And once I feel harder to breathe, that's when I take my first step back. Then a second. Then a third. And pretty soon, I'm running behind the closest cover I can.

The monster charges. Blue auras flashes like lightning and icy spears strike like thunder. Frigid gusts batter my cold body and I blow into my mitten. Then I find everything frozen. Icicles form on the edges of my fingers, my lips and even the eyelashes has a mysterious coating of ice. Even the saliva on my tongue is on the verge of freezing. Even every strand of my purple hair has traces of snow.

But at least, I didn't have it worse than the beast. Because when I look up, all there is is the frozen corpse.

"Ice Strike." Cathy adds, shattering the ice sculpture. It breaks off to its individual components: the head, the spikes, the legs, the torso.

"Will I be that strong too?" I look at the staff tucked onto my satchel's belt then back to Cathy. Then the staff. Then Cathy. I did this for about a million times, and stopping when she turns around. Snow falls off her blonde pony tail and in the quiet, enclosed space you can literally hear the snow breaking on the ground. "Cathy!" I race toward her like a child getting picked up by her mommy.

And I quickly fall back. Her body felt like ice itself and one good look at her, I can tell she's not well at all. "Are you alright?" I ask, fully knowing the answer.

"I'm ok." Her breaths come in rapid huffs. "We have to find the next log immediately."

"You're pushing yourself too hard! It was too powerful for you to control so even you got hurt by it! That's why you told me to step back, right?"

"When did someone like you become so sharp?"

"Even I know you will hurt yourself if you're doing something you've never done before."

"True, I guess they teach that to new Magicians these days. Hey, what are you doing?" I adjust her good arm around my back.

"We're going to find Lanny together."

"Hey, I don't need help to walk!"

"You can't complain this time. If I leave you, you're going to drop, and then you'll lose all your pride."

"I won't think you're competent just by doing this!"

"I know. I don't have a question to ask you anyway, so we'll call it even."

"You're starting to annoy me."

"And the best part is, you can't do anything about it."

"Just you wait! I'll…." And the squabble goes on and on. We keep each other company like we're long time friends. We learn many things from each other and again I see her smile, one that came from deep within the heart. And I know because she is laughing too, at very silly things. Before either of us understands it, we are having fun. As it turns out, she's not a bad person after all.

Taking three hours worth of time we head towards the direction the compass points to: north. Then Cathy puts her hands out.

"Stop." Cathy says.

"Oh come on, stop trying to trick me into leaving you. It wouldn't work."

"No, I didn't mean it like that. The compass direction changed."

"Don't tell me it is broken!"

"No, this is normal. When this happens, it means we're here."

"Huh! W-w-w-w-we're here! What!" Left: nothing. Right: Cathy. Front: nothing. Back: nothing. Above: sky. Then that means…. "So you're saying the time capsule is buried below us, in Adamasdyst!"

"No. If you tilt the compass sideways, it will point there." We stare at the cloudless sky, then at each other.

"There's nothing there."

"Don't be so sure about that. Take your staff, and shoot your best Thunderbolt into the sky."

"Are you sure about this?" She gives me a reassuring nod. "Alright. Thunderbolt!" I direct most of my Mana onto the tip of the staff until a nice round ball forms. And with one swing, three strings of lightning shot through the sky. Then, like what Chicken Little once said, "The sky is falling!", triangles of equal sides and equal angles break off one by one from the bottom; the pieces disappear into smoke before they reach the floor. Bit by bit the concentration of smoke dilute and bit by bit a shadow emerges up there. "Am I seeing things? Is that a building in the sky?"

"Yes, there is."

"Hey, you two down there! Hold on! I'll find a rope!" A voice from above calls. The person retreats into the shadow and reappears. It drops a thin rope downward, stopping midway between us and the sky.

"Teleport." The scenery shifts all of a sudden and before I know it, blood rushes into the crevices of my head. I'm hanging. Upside-down. Hundreds of feet in the air. And dangling on a rope. Oh my god

"Teleport," We shift around ten feet up. "Teleport," My lunch shifts around ten feet up. "Teleport," My blood pressure shifts around ten feet up. "Teleport," My lunch falls around tens of hundreds of feet below. "Teleport." My body collapse around ten feet from the rope.

"Blarg!" I spill out more of that mustard…disgusting…kind of mushy…filled with whatever I ate…substance. Argh. That Cathy, she should warn me before doing something like that.

"You!" A voice calls. I look up, clutching my stomach, and take a good look at the man dropped the rope, before throwing up again. He had silver hair, and wear glasses. His white suit seemed old and wrinkled, like the skin of old people. It was horrible thinking about wrinkled clothing, and that made me barf more. Then I remember the silver hair. Yang Ignotch, he was commander of Ludibrium.

"So this is where you were hiding!" Cathy drills her fist into the iron man who dropped the rope. He falls back a little and before he can strike back, Cathy pins him onto the ground with her knee. "Where is Anhel!"

"It's been ten years. You need to learn to relax." He says, calm, stoic, and a little bit of toughness.

"Relax? I knew something was fishy with you! At that time if Infinitas would let me, I would beat the truth from you! Eight years I've been looking for you! And the first thing you tell me is relax! You need to know your place!"

"The one that needs to know your place is you!" As quick as a blink the entire struggle changes, with Yang standing tall and Cathy pitifully on the ground. "I do not want to fight you here. But I would answer anything you have." He lets go and walks towards the building.

"Cathy!" I run over to her, seeing her reddening cheeks. You can see the palm mark on her skin. "Hey you!"

"Don't go." Cathy whispers, holding onto my sleeve. "I'll go with you." I pull her arms around my shoulders and stomps forward, taking big leaps to reach him faster. As he near the sliding door, I hurry a little more, slipping in there before the door closes.

The next picture was…. "Welcome to the Containment Laboratory. Sit down, make yourself at home as best as you can." Yang sincerely greets as if apologizing for before. Or perhaps he's pretending nothing happened at all.

"What the hell is this?" Cathy yells. And I would yell too if I have the strength to speak. But as I stare into the deep yellow eyes of the monsters, they stare back at me. All sixteen of them, they stole away my strength. I'm pale. I can feel it. And under me, Spice shivers too.

Their light blue armors are menacing.

* * *

Upcoming Chapters (and I'll release them all at the same time):

Lanny Chapter Eight-Invitation (ooh, what will happen!)

Ciel Chapter Nine-Invitation (where is Lanny?)

Epilogue (will there be a sequal?)

Adamasdyst: A word I conned up which is a mixture of adamas and dyst. Adamant came from adamas and adament meaning hard and firm, a diamond basically. Adamas means unconquerable and invincible in Greek, I believe. Dyst came from juste which means fair, just, reasonable, or correct in French. Then in Danish, juste developed into dyst meaning fight or struggle. And finally dyst turns to dust, fine grains or particles. So Adamasdyst can be translated into "diamond dust" a fancy way of saying "ice". But unintentionally, it could have a deeper meaning, such as "the eternal struggle for righteousness".

Oh and thank you Lyrei for commenting. I feel so much self-esteem with a praise from you. Here, have a cupcake.


	8. Lanny's Invitation

A/N: Short chapter. Deleted my other stories because they sucked. A lot. Other than that, no much else I can comment on. I tried hard to spot any logical flaws in this chapter, but didn't find any. But the length of it just tells me I left out something. If anyone find something wrong leaving a comment about it would be greatly appriciated =).

* * *

Lanny Chapter Eight-Invitation

"Project Utopia, eh?" Lanny said with wonder. A warm breeze blew into the train, bringing with it moisture and air.

"Die! Holy Arrow!" A white arrow struck cleanly through the warm cape without as much as a drop of blood. "I did it! I finally avenged you, my dragon."

"Boo!" Two powerful arms wrapped the unsuspecting Priest's body, restricting her movements. The attacker tossed her staff out the open window when she was about to cast another magic. "I believe you are Claire?"

"Shadow Partner!" The skill disperses, leaving behind empty clothing. "You dirty bastard!"

"I'll take that as a complement. It's quite funny how I would never have suspected you; your disguise is good enough to fool even me. I really should thank your friend, if it weren't for him cornering us, I would have never noticed how strong your Teleport was. And I would have really been dead."

"Go ahead and kill me! I don't want to hear anything from you!"

"So anxious to die. You're still young and pretty, it would be a waste to kill you here. Not until I'm done with you." Lanny twist her into a chair and stuck his tongue out to lick her cheeks, leaving a wet stain behind. "Why don't you be a good girl and tell me where Shirley is?"

"I won't tell you anything!" Lanny, unhappy with the answer, knocked the girl into the floor, and pressed his boots onto her hand. She groaned from the pain. "I still won't tell you shit! Just kill me now!"

"Don't test me!" He pressed harder until her hand bled, causing a scream to escape her lips. Inside him, he was screaming too.

He wanted to stop. He wanted to set her free. There was nothing more twisting than torturing someone who can't fight back. Because no one should feel the same pain he felt when he became aware of the hidden world around him. But it was impossible. Luck doesn't work around him, it works against him. And psychological games were unfortunately, Cathleen's specialty.

Unable to bear the pain anymore, Lanny released his shoe, silently hoping she had enough torment. "Had enough yet?"

"This is nothing!"

"Then I have no choice." He ripped off her top, revealing the cotton bra underneath. "One last chance. If you don't answer me correctly, I'll take away the most important thing to a Priest." _I beg of you. Please, just give up._

"Go eat shit!" _I'm sorry._

* * *

The train halted at the station. Every battle-ready Knight was called to wait for the train to arrive, and each one of them was anxious to nab the reward for Lanny's head.

"Claire!" Her Chief Bandit friend yelled. The door opened with a smiling Claire. "Why are you here? Ah." He gasped in awe when he saw two guys behind her. "You…you defeated him?"

"Of course I did! He hurt my dragon! If we didn't have to interrogate I would just killed him right here!" She moved, giving room for the Knights to jail the two unconscious men.

"Wow. I don't believe it! How did you do it?"

"I'm tired. We can talk about it tomorrow. Want to escort me to my room?" Claire gave a playful wink at her friend, sending shivers down his spine. For one thing, he had secretly loved Claire for a long time, and for another she never returned his feelings until now. First he was put off, but now he decided he should return those feelings.

"Sure." It was going to be a great day for the Bandit.

* * *

_I can't believe I took a deal like that. _He holds his fist close to his chest and prayed. _It feels so empty without it._

* * *

"Why didn't you say anything?" Lanny said, putting Claire down. Before the act even began, she had knocked herself out, maybe because she didn't want to witness herself being disgraced, or was afraid of slipping anything important to the enemy.

"You're strong, aren't you?" Nick questioned. "You can get me out of here right?" Lanny stood up and face the hopeful man. He didn't want to crush his hopes.

"I'm not that strong. This train is headed to the Tower. I don't know anything about that place, but I'm sure whoever is there won't be taking you to any "liberated areas". Honestly speaking, you might actually die."

"If I might, then there's something I would like for you to do." He reaches under his blue, scruffy hair and unclipped a golden locket. "Take this. There is a picture of my niece inside. If I died, you must give it to her, and tell her I'm sorry for not being there to see her become an adult. Please, would you do that for me?" He held out his hand, and with it, his last will. Lanny was surprised. For the first time in a long while, he saw a little purpose in his mission.

"You would trust me with this?"

"I know you are not a bad person. Your voice sounded so sad when you threatened her. That is why I trust you."

With confidence, he took his trust and hid the trinket under his sleeve. Then he made his resolve and prepared for a second spell. "I'm going to switch souls with the girl. I need you to stay in the last cart until I'm ready."

* * *

_I will not let you die, no matter what. You will see you're niece again. _It was his resolve. But at this moment he didn't quite know what to do. The spell will wear out once the clock strike noon, and he will awaken in a high security jail cell, ready to be executed. Then Nick in the neighboring cell will rot until his organs can be put to good use. On top of that Shirley was found tied up in an alley. Luck had played a dangerous gamble, where the stakes are against Lanny.

Threatening him with three lives, giving him enough time to just watch as the roulette stopped rolling, and putting his original mission on the line: it will all prove the "luckier" one. It was a gamble neither side want to lose.

Lanny stared straight ahead. There was the prize, the trophy, proof that luck didn't overcome him. But it was also an invitation. Luck has invited him to go forward, to the stage, where a series of twelve security cameras, ten elite guards, and titanium steel lock guarded it. And even if you did make it through everything and cracked the twenty digit pass code, the lock has a lag time of five minutes before it fully opens.

Another one of Cathleen's teachings: Never take the shortcut in life. Commonly this saying was told to children to not take drugs in order to gain what they want. But when the alternative was certain death, he would rather take the drug.

The new plan was: get security footage, get Nick, and get out of here through a submarine. The security cameras extended to the mysteries behind the titanium door and so it gave him a second opportunity to find the truth, once and for all. And the security room, ironically, isn't as heavily guarded and isn't located in the side of a large submarine yard. And right next to the security room was none other than the jail cells, where Nick and his body was located. After freeing them, they would sneak the next submarine out of here. The only flaw would be leaving Shirley behind, but Lanny has no intentions of going back to Cnorion.

With a satisfied smile, he turned down luck's invitation.

And his face lost all color.

A variable was introduced in the bet, one that neither luck nor Lanny had accounted for. That variable was Elite. Cathy was part of the two GM factions named Core. And Elite was the opposing faction, and they were better, bigger, and more ruthless than Core can ever hope to be. The variable in rookie uniform was actually someone he seen in a photo before. There's only one photo of this particular person, but it clearly showed his connection with Elite.

The person skittered around unevenly, pacing his steps so he can hear if someone was following him. There's no doubt now. He has to be a pro sent by Elite to gather information. And he must have quite a lot of information, because from Claire's memories, he was seen since last year.

_I can't follow him if he keeps walking like that. I'll have to stalk him…. _He scanned every inch of surroundings. _There! _As quiet as a cat, he went upstairs to the balcony and slipped into a nearby vent.

For about the next four hours, he went up against three things. The total dullness of the vents. The foul smell that drifted over every time an air conditioner was turned on. And the taste of mildew that dripped ever so often onto his lips. Ew. Kinda made him glad he wasn't damaging his own body.

The pro that Lanny was stalking went into the barracks, where Lanny was watching from above as the pro joined with his comrade. He immediately recognized the other as Eric. Ironically Lanny remembered being friend with him back in elementary. Small world. Controlled by luck.

"So, did the submarine came yet?" Eric asked.

"It's here." The pro answered.

"Ahh, finally, after a year I get to escape this hell hole. Hey, what should we do before we leave? Leave some graffiti around or something?" Eric laughed at the thought while his friend stayed serious. "Aww come on. Don't think that's funny?"

"Funny? What are you? A third grader? I used up a year of my life for this mission, and you will not do anything to screw this up. Something fishy and I'll get rid of you. You understand?"

"Hey, whoa. Relax dude. Nothing is gonna go wrong. I swear my life on that."

"Meet me at the docks at night, and we'll leave. Don't be late."

"Hmm? Why night? Why not just beat it now?" The pro ignored him and left. "Geez, what's your problem." Eric stood up from frustration and pointed the middle finger at the door. Unbeknownst to him, Lanny was directly above, dangling a fruit knife over his skull. Then it released.

He dropped down from the vents and the first thing he looked at was the clock. Eleven twenty-five.

Vigorously he poured out the closet, flipped the mattresses around, toppled the shelves, demolished exactly five locked boxes, and sawed the floorboards with a knife. The chip was hidden in Eric's coat pocket. When Lanny looked at the time again, it was eleven forty-nine.

Lanny made sure no one was close to the room, then creaked the door open and closed it really fast. And like that, he was gone again.

* * *

Two cell doors opened. Lanny had to kick his door, because the rust became so bad, it nearly glued the side of the door to the frame. Claire lay on the floor, the memories in Lanny was too much for her and she basically knocked herself out. Again. "What are we going to do about her?" Nick asked. Lanny tossed a white uniform into his face.

"Why should we care?" Lanny simply replied. He was back to his own body, and swapped clothes with Claire to prepare for the final escape. The uniform was a little tight. But he liked it that way. "Here's some gel for your hair." Lanny handed over the green goop and Nick pulled it over his hair. "Follow me at all times. And don't comment on the way I look. I didn't have time to dissolve the make up."

They rapidly ran up the stairs, out into the barracks, then through them to the construction area. And then after there, the submarine yard. Only a step away from home. A step away from quitting this mess.

"Nice, there's no one around here." Nick commented. Lanny surveyed the right. Then he surveyed the left. He wished he noticed this sooner. He wished everyone was out on a lunch break. He wished luck didn't win.

But it did.

They came in swarms. Like locusts attracted to rice fields.

Luck can be described in many different ways. Traditionally, luck was the equivalent to good will. Luck can never be controlled. So why is it that Thieves, Assassins, and Hermits depend so much on this one statistic? Was there some way to "train" ones luck to reach greater levels, the same way you can train strength, dexterity, and intelligence? Then how do you "train" luck? By testing it? Gambling with luck? Gamble your life on this one decision?

"Nick. Take these and go." Lanny held up the data disc and the locket. "I'll hold them off until you can get on. But be quick, I can only be a meat shield for so long."

"What? Are you crazy? No!" Nick gasped.

"Look, I have shit for life. But you, you have family left. That makes your life worth more value than mines. It's a good deal, no one's missing much." He got himself several shurikens and waited until the locusts were in range.

"What?" Nick repeated. "Is that how you look at your life?"

"There's no time! Just take it and go! I don't want to die with you!" Three seconds, the time to draw an arrow. "Stop hesitating and take it!" Nick swiped the two items from his hand, and finally, Lanny sighed in relief. The archers readied their stances and aimed.

Arrows were fired. There were four. One missed. One made a crunch. And the other two. Nick intercepted it with his body.

All eyes were focused on the direction it fired from. It wasn't from the left. Or the right. It was above. On the balcony. By an open air vent. The pro saluted Lanny before vanishing into the mildew darkness.

"He's getting away! Fire!" It took a moment for everyone to refocus their aim at Lanny, and by the time they did, he was already climbing into the submarine, carrying Nick around his back. The arrows bounced like stones off a tree and without a doubt, it was impossible for anyone to catch them now.

"Nick! Hang in there!" Lanny set the sub to auto-pilot, navigating them toward Victoria Island. "You gotta hang on! We'll be there soon!" He crawled over to Nick, giving him first aid, for that was all he could do. _You have to make it until Victoria Island, _Lanny mentally supported. Then the whole submarine went on a seizure. It tumbled and turned, lurched and twisted, crashed and boomed. The alarm rang. And in that moment, all Lanny thought was, _Damn you luck._

It continued to lurch forward until it pounded onto solid rock, puncturing its surface and devastating the face of the sub all at the same time. Two bodies, one alive, and one dead, spilled out from the torn metal into the floor. Water flooded in and Lanny didn't awaken until the water splashed into his face.

Hair a mess and mind still shaking, he sat on the dampened floor until his mind cleared enough for him to utter the name of the place he's in.

"The trophy room." And if his head wasn't still spinning, he would have moaned.

* * *

Upcoming Chapters:

Ciel Chapter Nine-Invitation (gasp, what is the truth?)

Epilogue-Where have your pulse gone? (the epilogue...)


	9. Ciel's Invitation

A/N: Hmm. Funny story. Remember when I said that chapter was the longest one? Turns out this one is longer, for some unexpected reason. Well, that could be good or bad depending if you like this story or not. There is one battle scene in this chapter, and it's a little rushed. Bear with me. I'm still only practicing writing and I have no idea where to start on battle scenes. Reviews would be greatly appriciated.

* * *

Ciel Chapter Nine-Invitation

"This is the Containment Laboratory." Yang repeats, sounding a little annoyed. But I might as well imagined that, because I'm too focused on the rows and rows of monsters to be noticing anything else. I count sixteen, all submerged in green preservation liquid or something. Never did I think I would see this outside of a horror science fiction movie.

And then I see one of them move a claw.

Or did I imagined that too.

Cathy must have noticed me staring into space so she pats me on the back comfortingly. I remember my parents doing that, and now she's doing it. Weird.

"This is where we were conducting human experiments. They were the completed products. And Anhel was—" Cathy didn't wait. She whips her hand in the air and aims for his head. But before the impact, Yang catches it easily. "Anhel is fine, don't worry." Yang assures, like he can read minds or something.

"Fine? Fine as in, he's alive in one of those tanks! Huh? Is that what you wanted to say?" Cathy spats.

"Calm down and listen for once! The reason you lost two students was because you were too rash!"

"Don't lecture me!" She pulls herself free and steps back until I am directly behind her. "Lost two students." She mumbles. Then her eyes widens. "Lanny! Where is Lanny?" Yang sits back on a leather couch; it looks like it was moved there recently.

"What do you mean where is Lanny? He escaped six months ago." Her eyes widen more, like they are going to burst any second. Before she does, I back off on the opposite couch, while Spice crawls around my lap.

"Six months ago? Don't try to trick me! He never came back for squat!"

"I saw it with my own eyes. He took a prisoner with him too. Actually you should thank those enemies of yours. Without a distraction from them, he would have never escape."

"Elite? Elite was here? What?"

"You don't know a lot of things, do you? Why don't you sit down and I'll tell you everything I know." Still cautious, Cathy settle herself next to me, and Spice crawls onto her lap, annoying her a bit, but for the most part, she barely noticed. I myself crossed my legs, since I feel a little more comfortable this way. "I should start with Anhel.

"It began back when I was commander of Ludibrium. As I recall, we were on a mission to exchange a gift from Ludibrium to Orbis, as part of the treaty. Then, as you know, we had to move on without you. While we were separated in El Nath, two people came up to us. One was Leol Anderson." He breathes a sigh of affection, probably for Leol since he died when Lanny was here. Cathy's attention was aimed directly at the boring story, completely neglecting Spice chewing her clothing. I couldn't help but laugh a little, getting stares from both of them, before they return to face each other. "Do you know where Leol came from?"

"So he's not from Mu Lung?" Cathy asks in a high voice, like she's assuming.

"Of course not. He used a fake identification. He actually came from Magatia."

"Southern Continent?" Cathy raises an eyebrow and I did too, for a different reason. She probably knows what she's talking about. But me, I'm now shifting gazes between both of them thinking "what the heck is going on here?"

"Precisely. Years ago, he found a laboratory in the middle of the sewers and discovered a series of spell books. Among them was the ability to integrate certain enzymes into the cells. That was how these monsters in the tubes were created.

"And Anhel. Leol scouted him to be part of another experiment. The other parts of the spell books detailed on that: the elements and how to change the human body into the elements itself. He called this "Direct Elemental Anatomy and Manipulation", DEAM. And Anhel possessed the genes to survive the DEAM process. And I was pulled into this. They offered me change, a way to make the world a better place. So they took Ludibrium's treasure and Anhel, while I had to finish everyone else who was with us.

"We knew you would find my alibi fishy, but I didn't care. Soon, I would leave too, and Ludibrium wouldn't let you investigate me. I joined up with Leol, who worked for a group called the Knights. I didn't know much about the people on the inside. That didn't matter though. I was more interested in finishing the job and so I was to watch the prisoners. You've seen them right? Trapped in Adamasdyst?"

"Get to the point." Cathy snarls.

"The prisoners were from all around, and they all had one single point, special genes, genetic disorders, or a certain talent. In response to that, the Special Children program by Elite was made, the secret eradication of ones they labeled as "special". They all had the ability to survive the DEAM process. Anhel was one of the first successful subjects. It was a miracle he survived the pain. While his arm, his body was being liquefied into water, he screamed for your name. I do wonder why though. Why would he, a traitor, still think about you?"

"Why?" Cathy fingers twitch. She looks like she is about to strangle either Yang or me. I back off. "What have you been making Anhel go through?" Her voice is all serious-like, even more than before. Actually it wasn't even serious before, she was just trying to be mean or scary.

"Calm down." Yang repeats again. "You wouldn't want to disturb the monsters. They could break the glass any minute." Cathy stares down at him for a minute before blinking again. "Now, with Anhel a full fledge Knight, he was given the special rank of DEAMer. He left about a year before your other student came.

"And him, he was troublesome. We didn't know what to do about him. He just went in and did damage. Even one of our DEAMer, not Anhel by the way, couldn't finish him. You taught him skills that astounded me. Never did he slip, not in the slightest, until the last moment. And then he still escaped. But you said he never came back. Hmm, I wonder?" He chuckles darkly. I slap him. He didn't mind. I said nothing.

"Let's go." Cathy rises and heads to the door.

"Where are you going? I still have more I want to say."

"I'm not interested in your lies."

"Lies? You have every reason to trust me."

"Why?"

"As you can see, this is abandoned. There's no one left here but me. And the reason I didn't treat you to anything is because I have to ration the food. Get it now? I've been waiting for someone to pick me up and take me back."

"Nothing is restraining you here. You could leave anytime."

"The glass could break any moment. And once the building is destroyed by the monsters, the artificial weather system would fail. I should know. I was the one who stole the technology from Ludibrium."

"Don't act like you're noble!" Cathy points an accusing finger at Yang as the automatic door opens.

"I am not. This is repent."

"Repent? How exactly are you repenting by stay here? If you wanted to repent, you wouldn't stay here! You wouldn't betray Ludibrium in the first place!"

"I had no choice!" He growls, not in an angry way but…a loud way. "Ludibrium forced me into this! Do you understand the sacrifices of a commander? Even here, I had to watch people die! After learning about their ways, I wanted to stop the Knights as much as GMs do."

"You're too late. The king and queen are dead." We walk out the door. Right now, I'm thinking what just happened. So many things I don't understand or know about. Who are the Knights? Who is Anhel? Who are the special children?

But right before we reach the rope, I decide to ask the only thing she actually knows the answers to. "Where is Lanny?" She stops and turns. Her eyes are directed to the ground, like she doesn't want me to know she's going to lie. And imagine, she having a hard time lying to me, someone so confused in the mist of all this.

"He…" I listen carefully because I just have a feeling she won't repeat herself. Also her voice was soft, her face was torn. I am looking at a Cathy who lost all her fierceness and power. Suddenly I regret ever asking.

"The king and queen dead you say?" Yang asks, popping up from behind us. My lungs take in oxygen, I forgot to breathe again. "If that is the case, then I wouldn't want to protect the Knights anymore."

"Protect the Knights?" Cathy responds, changing the subject. I can tell she's as relief as I was. "So what else were you hiding? And why?"

"We're not exactly on good terms with each other, whoever we'll be affiliated with. I would save this for later, but now seems like the time. Cathy, this city covered in Adamasdyst is actually an artificial dimension created by Leol. The elevator that took you here is a transporter. The real underground level is where you will find out more about the Knights. And what your student was looking for." Cathy smiles, a fake smile. It's a little bit easier to tell the difference, because if she's smiling for real, it'll be because you said a nice joke. Or did something hilarious.

"Finally we're getting somewhere." She talks like she actually knows there's more than meets the eye. "Is the real level where I can find information on Anhel?"

"You'll find everything Leol worked on."

"Allow me to thank you in place of the king and queen." She walks pass me and I keep my attention at her, seeing her smile change. "Let me guess. You're running out of time because the glass is breaking. And you need me to freeze the monsters."

"I just notice. You're smiling. Does it have something to do with knowing Anhel is alive, and that you can reach closer to him?"

"I wouldn't be happy over a traitor."

"Then it's for Lanny?"

* * *

"I wish you best of luck." Yang blesses. "I'll stay here and guard the monsters."

"Don't try anything funny." Cathy warns before pushing me into the portal. Unlike those movies where you see lots of colors and flashes, going through a real portal is like jumping through a window. Once you're on the other side, you're on the other side.

Cathy soon joins me, map in hand. We're heading to some main computer room place, which guess what? Contains some high top notch information. Yeah. "Why is it flooded?" I lift my feet up above the water and walk above the surface of the water. "Bleh. Grime." And speaking of that, this place smells grimy too. Bleh.

But at least there's lighting from the glow-in-the-dark mineral along the walls. So many of these formed; it lighted the underground in a soft blue glow.

"Probably a leak, no one's been here for six months." Cathy explains without raising her head from the map. "The flood gates control should be nearby. Let's go." Spice perches on top of my shoulder and appears to be afraid of the water.

"So what if the controls are flooded?" I ask.

"Never. Controls for flood gates are made as far away from water as possible. The chances of it being flooded are zero." Every step makes a plopping noise, which really reminds me about the leaky faucet in Lanny's apartment. It kept me awake all the time, so I always complained about it and he always brushed my off by saying "I'll get it fix sooner or later".

"I know I'm noisy and you don't like it, but can I ask who Anhel is?"

"You're like one of those girls who like gossiping all the time, Lime. You really need a new hobby."

"I can't help it. I'm interested in everything that has to do with people. I know you think it's pointless and you look down on me for that."

"Hmm. I can't deny that. But the reason I enjoy having you around is because of—"

"Did you just say you enjoy having me around?" I pipe up. She looks nervous at first. Then she calms back to normal.

"I'll admit you're not that bad to hang around with. But don't let it get to your head. You're still not as useful as I want you to be. And don't you dare tell anyone about this."

"I won't, but in return, you have to tell me why you're really so mean all the time. And don't tell me stuff like you're a mean person, I can tell you're not by now."

"Ok, I'll tell you. It started twelve years from now. I was still a lowly GM, no one knows about me and I work behind the scenes and all that. Then I got promoted and am ready to train some people we literally pick off the street. They shoved me with Anhel. He was that perky, young boy that no one can stand because of his positive attitude. I couldn't at first and wanted to write a transfer letter, but it got rejected. So I got stuck with that kid."

"Hehe. Sounds like the both of you had fun."

"I wouldn't call it fun, even though it was. I really appreciate him, even when he annoyed me. Then, like you heard from Yang, he disappeared along with a treasure of Ludibrium. His body wasn't found and some wounds on the soldiers indicated Anhel murdered them. I was crushed when the forensics department showed me the results. I couldn't not believe it. The higher ups soon told me to stop investigating Yang behind their backs, and I was left with no way of finding Anhel."

"So he left you without saying goodbye? That's why you want to find him, right?"

"How did you guess?"

"I'm a girl too. If a guy ever leaves me without saying anything, I would squeeze his neck next time I see him. Yeah! If we ever find Anhel, I'll hold him down for you." I give her a wink.

"That's if we ever find him. And Lanny. Hey, I'll hold down Lanny for you."

"Of course, jumping off a cliff pretending he's dead. Unforgiveable!"

"Hey, we should give them a bigger punishment! Why don't we…" Cathy and I continue to exchange jokes with each other, laughing a storm. Twice I almost dropped Spice from all the shaking.

"We're here!" I shriek, taking another glace at the map. Cathy breaks down the door, revealing the levers and gears on the inside. "Ok, let's go." I take a swipe at the lever, thinking it would be an easy push. But it wasn't as easy as I thought, and Cathy laughed all the way at my attempt. "Hey! I would like to see you try."

"Gladly. Here look. You're supposed to push it the other way." She gives it a kick and the gears springs back to life. The water level lowers and lowers and lowers until all that's left is a pile of moss. Next to the door is stairs leading down.

"This place doesn't look really outdated. Why would there be gears?"

"That's because if they use computer equipment, the flood gates wouldn't work in the event of a blackout, and that happens when there's a flood. And these gears aren't that outdated. It's stainless and made of hard alloy."

"Still, I rather press a button then have you laughing at me. When you laugh, you sound like an evil witch." She starts to laugh again. I shove her.

The main computer room is just ahead of us, I can make out a large, blank screen with a large gash through it. And between us and the room are an array of bodies, some already decomposed into complete skeletons and some with some flesh left behind. It was a grueling sight, and seeing it makes the room smells even more hideous. It's the feeling you get when you have a full stomach and then you decided you wanted to be bulimic in some dirty public restroom.

"Hmm, I half expected you to be scared." Cathy praises. It sounded like praising. She walks. And I walk too. There wasn't a need to rush.

"It's hard to be scared when you were raped before." I answer bluntly.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's ok. I have to get used to my past if I am going to move on."

"You know. You've grown a lot stronger lately."

"Lanny was strong too, so I want to be like that too. The whole purpose of me being a Mapler is so that I would never need others to defend me again. He was the one who encouraged me and made me believe I wasn't alone. I don't want to let him or anyone else down."

"Ok, now, you're really staring to scare me. That's not what you're supposed to be like. You need to go shopping again."

"I'm serious! I want to be stronger!" She turns and ignores me, pretending I'm chop liver or something. I don't have to prove anything to her because all I have to do is to prove it to myself that I can do it. Lanny told me that before. I wonder what he's doing now….

"Watch it!" Cathy jumps.

"What?" I look left and right, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. Then I see her lifting up a sheet of metal, revealing a piece of paper. The metal shielded liquid from destroying the paper, leaving half intact. Wish I can say that about the other half though. It's been decaying ever since it was left there.

"Ew! Put that thing down." I grumble, covering my nose from the stench.

"Project Utopia?" She sighs, dumping the paper on the floor. I take a peek at it. Across it, in faded letters was: Project Utopia. "The computer's broken, and there are no file cabinets. We'll, looks like that's it." She looks around the perimeter, and then abruptly stops. I look up at where she's gazing.

"So, where's the security room?" Cathy pulls the map out.

* * *

"Nice. The flood gates prevented water from coming in." Cathy smiles, but it soon fades away. I search for the flashlight in the satchel and direct it over the floor, the walls, and the computer in the corner.

"What happened here? Look at the mess."

"Looks like someone got here before we did." Cathy looks around, disappointed. "But maybe, there's still something left in the computer." She pops the computer open with only a single slash of her sword and starts to break the components off, piece by piece.

"What are you looking for?"

"This." She holds it up in the flashlight, a rectangular metal box. "It's the hard drive. Hopefully, there are still something in there we can use. Hey do you hear something?"

"Hear what?"

"Quiet." I stretch my ears out. There's this sound…. It's like the crumpling of shopping bags when you dig into your clothing. Hmm, it makes you gentle and relaxing. "Lime. Follow me and watch out for anything that moves." I did as I am told clinging onto her like glue, until I realize the source of the sound was…

"Water?" There was a thin layer of water, flooding the place like what? Two inches deep? Then there's this rumbling.

I look at her and she hold onto my hands tightly. Then we zip out of there like flies. As she teleport us, I didn't panic. I wasn't scared. Sure, an indoor tsunami is going to wipe us out, but I have Cathy. She'll protect me. I know she will.

"Close it now!" Cathy sharply directs after we cross the portal. "Didn't you hear me? I said close it!"

"I can't do that. The moment you both came back, it should close. This portal isn't my doing anymore." Yang quietly explains. He looks into the portal, probably seeing the emergency. "Run!" He dashes ahead as we try to catch up to him. At the edge of the floating building, he extends a metal pike and jumped.

"Put your arms around my neck!" I look at Cathy, seeing the confident smile. The ground shakes, there's only a moment. Alright, we'll jump too.

I embrace her firmly. And we shoot into the sky as far as we can.

The wind. The speed. I'm experiencing it all again. But this time, I have Cathy here with me. I'm not afraid, and I'm definitely not afraid. Because I trust Cathy. She won't abandon me, ever again.

"Spiraling Pinwheel!" She impacts her sword on the roof of a tall building, summoning ice to impact the blow. My grip loosens and I fall onto the cold surface. Above us, the building we jumped from is now a fountain, flooding the city below. Behind a stream of water, I see the fake sun reflecting a fake rainbow. Even though it's fake, it still looks beautiful, and it still gives me hope for something better.

"Hey!" A voice I don't recognize suddenly reaches my ears. It's a high voice. A shadow from nowhere soon descends slowly onto the rooftop across from us. He's a boy, no more older than me. For his top, he's wearing a tight but thick yellow short sleeve shirt with a light coffee underside. And for pants, he got baggy shorts, really baggy. There are so many pockets, for a second it looks like he could practically fit a whole house in there. My verdict? He needs a girl to do his shopping. At least everything matches his shoulder length brown hair.

"What are you doing here?" He frowns. It appears he might go on a temper tantrum any second. I don't think he would. "Hey!" He screams at the top of his lungs. "What are you—" He pauses when Cathy turns. "Cathleen!" His sulking expression curves upwards. Then teeth are showing. And before you know it, he's laughing and smiling and spreading his arms out and saying, "Cathleen!" again.

I know not a lot of people call her Cathleen. Actually I know she hates people calling her Cathleen. I don't know why, but I guess it has something to do with her parents. There were conversations about it, but she's been avoiding it. And I didn't press on, so I left it like that. So, I just concluded this: The only people who know her real name are people who are "family" to her.

"Anhel." I infer. And I must be right because after Cathy took one good look at him, she says,

"Anhel!"

"I don't believe it! You're here! You're here!" Anhel squeals, like a lost child finding his mother. "There's—" He stops and looks in the air. A pair of monsters has broken loose and they draw their fists behind them, ready to pummel the ants below. "Summon: Orca!" Anhel tosses three summoning rocks into the air as high as he can, and for someone near my age, boy, he can throw high.

The stones shined brighter than the artificial sun above us and when the light dims, taking it place was a penguin-colored shark. It grips the two monsters in its mighty jaw, and takes it catch into the sea. From the crunching sounds, I can't help but imagine how sharp the teeth are.

The orca, or whatever, swims around our building. I tighten my grip on Cathy's hand. "Hey!" Anhel suddenly yells. "What do you think you're doing? You have no right to hold my teacher's hand!" Taken back, I release my grip only to have Cathy grip me instead.

"She has every right to touch me, unlike you! You went rogue! You have no right to call me teacher anymore!" Cathy snaps.

"Once a teacher, forever a teacher. And I see you as more than that. You will always be a mother to me."

"That's just you! The Anhel I knew died ten years ago!" Ten years ago? But…

"Wait a second," I come in inappropriately.

"Shut up! You have no place to speak!" Anhel insults. I can tell he's jealous because that's the tone I use too when I see someone with better looks than me.

"The one who have no place here is you, Anhel." Yang says, spearing a metal pike through Anhel's chest. "You sensed I was coming, why didn't you dodge?"

"To show everyone I've become stronger. See this Cathy? I'm a DEAMer now. My power far surpasses most GMs now. Aren't you proud?"

"Get it into your head, Anhel," Cathy starts, "all I feel about you is disgust. But if you come back now, I'll still be willing beg for a lighter sentence."

"I don't want to go back! No one wants me there! And no one wants you too! You should join the Knights! We can be teacher and student again! The both of us working side by side, that would be great!"

"It is true that not a lot of people like me. But, they care about me, still. That's why they are still with me, even though I annoyed them. Anhel. I'm not asking you, but begging you, to come back so we can be together."

"No! Cathleen! If you won't come back! Then I don't want to talk to you anymore! Give me the information you have about us and I'll let you go!"

"I'm not giving you anything! Thunder Spear!" She gathers electricity across the length of her sword and strike lightning through Anhel, completely obliterating his chest. He looks shocked as everything melts into a puddle of water. Yang was nowhere to be seen. Then I hear a battle cry behind me. Yang had somehow got there and was struggling with the orca.

"You made my teacher like this! Die!" Anhel dives out of the water, and outstretches his hands toward my neck.

"Cold Beam!" A silver of ice cuts right through Anhel, freezing the two halves of his body. "Don't just stand there. You're fighting too. I need you to help me."

"Ok, so what do you want me to do?" I ask, suddenly remember that I'm actually part of this mess. Funny how everything seems like a movie when you are a third-person bystander.

"Simple. He is now one with water, and as long as a drop of him escapes, he can always reform himself. That is why we'll stop him by freezing him and the surrounding moisture. That is where you'll come in. I want you to use a Cold Beam powerful enough to stop him in his tracks, and then I'll finish him off with my lightning."

"Right, but there's one problem. Would my Cold Beam be enough?"

"Summon: Ifrit!" All of a sudden the atmosphere got warmer and somehow I feel a presence behind me.

"Whoa!" I scream really loud once I see what's behind me. There it is. A legless monster twice my height. Its skin is dark brown and flaming red, the color of fresh magma. It…is…completely… Awesome! "Will I be able to summon that?" I eye the arms; it's big enough to choke a person to death by squeezing the stomach.

"Of course. Ifrit meet Lime. Lime meet Ifrit. Ifrit, I need you to give Lime your Mana and to protect her at all times."

"Yes master." Ifrit humbly bows his head.

"Wow it talks too! And he sounds strong!" I smile.

"Ok Lime, keep this in mind. I can only keep Ifrit for two minutes. In that time, you have to find an opening and Cold Beam Anhel."

"Alright, I get it! Two minutes, no problem!"

"I'll flush out Anhel and distract him. Ice Strike!" She sways the sword upward, freezing a bridge of water in front of our building. Anhel jumps out of the sea right before it freezes him and the moment he's in the air…

"Cold Beam!" A piece of ice, the size of a maple tree crushes down on Anhel like a shooting star, fast and accurate. It only gazes his back a little though, because of my timing, and Anhel easily sheds the ice off. "Ifrit, I'll need more Mana."

"Yes, Master Lime." I feel the air around me fill with Mana. It makes the air feel crisp and breezy, and it gives you a sense of power you never felt before. "Cold Beam!" I try again. He dodges it this time flawlessly.

"You're annoying!" Anhel bawls. "Torpedoes!" At least eight spheres points directly at me. Personally I'm not frazzled or nervous, because it's just water, how much can it hurt?

"I'll protect you, Master Lime!" Ifrit puts his arms in front like a shield and sizzle the water into nothing once it made contact.

"Argh!" He shows his teeth out; he's exactly an angry guard dog. "Orca! Chew them up!" I turn to see the giant shark thing high in the air, casting an ominous shadow over the building. Yang slides in front of it and yells,

"Dragon Roar!" Two purple rings of runes spins in front of Yang and he yells into the circle, blasting the shark multiple times. "Focus on the matter at hand. I'll be protecting you, too."

"Um…thanks I guess." I tried to be as sincere as I can, but it came out as more of a complaint for some reason.

"No need. Here's a tip for you. Electrify the water then corner him with ice." He jumps ahead, skipping buildings and going after the shark.

"I see. I'll give it a try! You ready Ifrit?"

"Always, my lady."

"Then let's go. Thunderbolt!" Six rays dances across the water. They create an array of light, reflecting off the Adamas thing and lighting the air. It continues to spread around the city endlessly. As I observe, out in the corner I spy Cathy and Anhel, one striking and the other evading. They move in a similar way, maybe because they were teacher and student, or maybe they're just really in sync. From a third person point-of-view, it looks more like a dance than anything. Everything's so swift, so beautifully coordinated, and so defined. I want to fight like that too.

"Master Lime, it's about time." Ifrit reminds. "I would disappear soon."

"Ok. He have no where to go, and Cathy's pushing him to the edge. Once he's there, he can't evade. Ok." I watch and wait, moving my aim around to get a nice angle at him. He shifts each and every way, and when you are waiting for something, things moves so very slow. But it's better than way, because now I can clearly see when and where he'll be once he's at the edge.

Just three more steps…

"Now! Cold Beam!" It crashes down right before Ifrit disappears into light. The ice encases Anhel in a cold prison; there's no way of escape.

"Thunder Spear!" Cathy uses her magic and obliterated the statue. The pieces of ice landed in the ocean and glittered under the sun. I smile at Cathy and she smiles back at me. Then her whole expression change and I have a pretty sure idea what's happening.

"Cold…," I prepare before Cathy starts to warn me.

"Behind you!" I turn around with my staff, punching Anhel's head off. It quickly reforms itself with water, and boy he sure looks mad.

"I got you now!" Anhel exclaims and holds onto my body, wetting my clothing from top to bottom. The floor hit the back of my head, and I feel myself…I feel myself…I feel myself. _I'll get rid of you! Then Cathy would love me again! _Cathy's boots hastily squeaks on the floor next to me.

"Get away from me! He's inside my head! Argh!" I squirm and struggle and didn't know what I'm doing. Water covers my vision even though I am certain I'm nowhere in water. "Ahh!" I scream. Everywhere hurts. Everything inside of me hurts. It's swimming. Anhel's swimming in there. No. I feel like dying. I don't want to die! No! No! "…Beam!" I don't remember anything else.

* * *

Upcoming Chapters:

Epilogue-Where have your pulse gone? (upload later today, once I'm done)


	10. Epilogue

A/N: Finding What's Lost, complete. Yay! After a grueling four months I'm done with this side story. Whew, took a long time. I wonder when is the last time a story was actually completed (one-shots don't count, nuh-uh). So I'm glad this is finally over! Yes! Now I can get on with something else! A main story (which means something long and boring is coming up). If you like this story, then go read my next story. I'll be sure to shed some more light on things. Read and review please!

* * *

Epilogue-Where have your pulse gone?

"Is it true?" I bring up when Cathy begins slicing the apple.

"What is?" she asks, letting the vivid red peels drop to the floor. Without looking at her, I know her gaze is fixated somewhere else. Elsewhere. In space. Like I am.

"You should know. You left it here so that I can see the truth too. So is it true? Could the tape be forged or anything? Is Lanny really—"

"Don't say it." She pikes up. She's sad. Like I am.

For a while neither of us said anything. We couldn't bear the truth. All you'll ever hear in this room, at this moment, is the soft slicing of apple flesh and the peels softly hitting the ground.

I want to cry. She wants to cry, too. And damn, I can't hold back my tears longer than her. Damn.

"Want to go out for a walk?" Cathy offers, patting my back. "I'll accompany you." I think and think and think about it a moment. And for a second, my eyes wander out the window. The ciel looks nice, and so is the sunset, bright red and beautiful and tasteful. A good day, even though I missed half of it. Winter is coming, snow would bury everything. Three months after, spring would bring sunshine.

"I want to leave." I give my answer straight and clear and in between sobs. "Anywhere is fine, as long as I get to go somewhere." She gives a nod of respect on the decision and helps me pack up and undress. And as I pack what little I have with me, I begin to think.

What's lost is lost. It is like a pulse under the skin. It's hiding, but you can feel it. And that's the most important part. Nothing else matters. Right?

Knock. Knock. "Come in." Cathy greets for me. I'm still not used to her sounding sincere. Actually it's creepy.

"Hey, packing already. Good to see you're wide awake." The knocker smugly rattles. He stayed outside of the room and Cathy was in front of him so I couldn't get a clear picture of who he was.

"Get out of our faces, Silverbug!" Cathy scorns. Yep, I don't think she'll cry.

"Whoa. Our? I see the both of you are the two stooges now."

"I'll punch you."

"Well before you do, I have a letter for Ms. Levite. Tell her congratulations for me."

"For you." Cathy throws the pink envelope on the bed then slams the door.

* * *

Epilogue-The Other Invitation

He shook his head for a while, before approaching the prize. Carefully, he pressed the keys on it, and searched through it thoroughly. What he was seeking was truth. That was his desire from the very beginning since he decided to write a letter, not to Cathleen, but to Ciel. It was all part of his plan.

Certainly, it would take time for Cathleen to decode the message. And by then, he would be long gone and erased from the world. Normality is erasure. Because in a world that revolved around luck, the world is revolving around chaos.

The truth was nigh.

A picture faded in appearance on the screen. He was a man. A man in his early adulthood. And he was surprised. He asked something. And the other person spoke with power and confidence. He sounded threatening.

The adult pulled his hair back, showing the amusement on his face. Did the other one said a joke? He seemed to be denying it. And the expression of amusement faded. It grew grimmer and grimmer, until all that left was a scowl. His eyebrows stuck together in the middle of his forehead, and the trophy winner was the one laughing.

Every little movement was a response to ones feelings. And both took note of that. They eyed dramatically, exchanging expressions of reality and forgery. Expressions of black and white. Within the middle of the boundary of white and black was a third color. Gray. And that gray takes up the majority. But all it takes is thoughts, beliefs, and so-called morals to change gray into white or black. That is why human nature is so gray. So deceiving. And so sad.

"Tell me, how many people know about this place?" Neinheart asked.

"Lots." Lanny replied, a smirk still on his face.

"If that's the case, then I have no use for it."

"I'll destroy it."

"If you survive, that is."

"I'll meet you on the surface."

The two acted like old friends. They were not. And as the two strangers exchanged goodbyes, Lanny opened the flood gates and released the Adamasdyst. He was going to make this world a color other than gray.

* * *

A/N: And there it is. As promised, all summed up in a nut shell. Tell me what you like and don't like. Was the ending good? Or bad? Unexpected? Or really lame? Even if you're not a member, you can still review, so please do =).


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